Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

EVandPV

gefnew said:

Here are some of our efforts on battery storage.
Projects | Harmony Energy

Nice.
I'm about 10 minutes along the road from one of them. 👍

Coastalwatch

A surprise announcement, for me at least, placing Washington state five years ahead of California, previously thought to have been the most forward looking state otherwise. A comprehensive set of measures surrounding public transport including hybrid electric ferries amongst others.

No new combustion vehicles in Washington State by 2030

The US state of Washington has passed a bill banning the sale, purchase and registration of new petrol-powered vehicles of model year 2030 or later. If it becomes law, Washington will phase out internal combustion vehicles five years earlier than other states such as California.

The transportation package is called Move Ahead Washington and is sponsored by Sen. Marko Liias and Rep. Jake Fey, the respective chairs of the Senate and House transportation committees. The plan will see $16.9 billion in investments over 16 years in major projects throughout the state.

With 5.4 billion dollars earmarked to flow into CO2 reduction measures, including “multi-modal expansion”, another three billion dollars will go towards better public transport. “Active transportation’ will see investments of $1.3 billion, including Safe Routes to School and school-based bike programs and, for example, passengers up to the age of 18 are to be able to use public transport free of charge. Other transport sectors are also taken into account: waterways are being addressed with $836 million to build four new hybrid-electric ferries, the rail sector has not been forgotten with $150 million towards ultra-high-speed rail, and among other initiatives, $50 million is being invested in walking and biking infrastructure.

https://www.electrive.com/2022/03/21/no-new-combustion-vehicles-in-washington-state-by-2030/

Coastalwatch

Can't imagine there will be too much of a queue lining up to invest in this company with its much publicised chequered past. But now the original owner has been excommunicated then who knows what the future may hold for it!

Nikola looks to sell more shares

The zero-emission truck-maker Nikola apparently wants to issue 200 million ordinary shares to raise 1.5 billion dollars. Among other things, the money is to be used to implement the second phase of the plant in Coolidge, Arizona.

Nikola could use it to raise capital to complete construction at Coolidge, for example. However, the plan is unlikely to go down well with existing investors, as issuing more shares would dilute their stake in the company. In order to keep the shareholding constant, investors would have to put money in their hands again and strike at the share issue.

https://www.electrive.com/2022/03/21/nikola-looks-to-sell-more-shares/

Martyn1981

Sticking with a storage theme I found three interesting articles on the same site, which I think answer most of our thoughts, concerns and questions.

So, number one, an article that suggests that storage in the UK is now transitioning from grid support services (power) to storage and arbitrage opportunities (energy). That seems to make sense and shows the industry transitioning naturally, I'd suggest?

How financing and revenue models are evolving in UK battery storage

The British Isles are to utility-scale batteries as the Galapagos Islands are to tortoises: the isolated island home to a curious, outsize, marginal, yet instructive population. However, the somewhat faster evolution of UK BESS merits more frequent study.

In reviewing 2021, LCP’s 2022 UK BESS Whitepaper uncovered a single over-arching theme: the start of the battery storage industry’s transition from solving power to solving energy.

The long-held promise of utility-scale batteries was always energy storage, yet that was never their principal application. They sold ancillary power reserves far more than they traded energy. However, that is starting to change. And it will change how batteries are financed.

The change from power (often discussed as ancillary services, and a “MW” focus) to energy (a.k.a. arbitrage and “MWh”) is subtle, but unmistakeable. 

Sticking with current grid storage needs (developing needs) here's just an article on more intraday storage for the grid:

EDF’s Pivot Power gets planning permission for next 100MW of 2GW UK BESS pipeline

EDF-owned battery storage developer-investor Pivot Power has secured planning permission for two 50MW/100MWh lithium-ion battery storage sites in the UK.

Both follow the rollout of other ‘superhubs’ in the West Midlands and Oxford by Pivot Power, which is targeting 2GW of transmission-connected battery storage and high-volume power connections.

And lastly an article on longer term storage, and (perhaps for us) the perfectly named - Long Duration Electricity Storage Alliance Group

UK’s energy minister talks decarbonisation with new Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance group

A meeting between energy storage industry representatives and the UK’s energy minister Greg Hands took place last week, with discussions centring on unlocking investment in energy storage technologies.

Organised by the Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance, the meeting saw representatives from energy companies Drax and SSE Renewables and technology providers Highview Power and Invinity Energy Systems meet with Hands, the Minister of State at the government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

According to the Alliance, representatives spoke on how decarbonising the UK’s electricity system by 2035 will require a range of flexible home-grown, long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies in order to strengthen the contribution of renewables and deliver system stability.

A recent report from Aurora Energy Research highlighted the need for LDES, suggesting that up to 24GW of LDES could be needed to effectively manage the intermittency of renewable generation in line with a net zero electricity system by 2035.

Spies

Why is Octopus fan club trending at the moment, are they building more turbines? 

Martyn1981

This is promising news. I suspect it's just Johnson changing his opinion to reflect what he thinks the public will like at any given time, but that works well for onshore wind.

The comments by ministers seem fair, reflecting the fact that the public seem to be far more accepting of onshore wind than it may have appeared 10yrs or so back. In fact the quarterly attitude surveys over the last 10yrs have shown a modest rise in approvals from about 67% to low 70's, but a large drop in opposition from 12% to 8%. It would seem fair to assume that if the visual impacts of onshore wind were really so bad over the last decade, then opposition would not have fallen by a third.

Johnson to defy cabinet fears and push for onshore wind expansion

Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.

The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.

Ministers have not yet made a final decision but one senior government source said Johnson was “open minded” and “passionate” about offshore wind.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has made clear publicly that he would like to see planning rules relaxed in order to facilitate the building of more onshore windfarms. Michael Gove, who oversees the planning system, has also spoken in favour.

Kwarteng has suggested the public’s opposition to windfarms has fallen away, given the push for net zero and the renewed interest in energy self-sufficiency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There were quite understandable political reasons that people didn’t want to see large-scale, onshore winds in their vicinity. I think that’s changed,” he told the i newspaper earlier this week. “I think the prime minister has been very clear that onshore wind has got to be part of the mix and we’ve got to look at planning.”

He added: “The argument about onshore wind in 2015 was a historic argument even before we committed to net zero and the circumstances today with Putin. Russia, Saudi Arabia, all of those things mean that we’ve got to have more energy independence and I think onshore renewables are absolutely part of that.”

michaels

Martyn1981 said:

Sticking with a storage theme I found three interesting articles on the same site, which I think answer most of our thoughts, concerns and questions.

So, number one, an article that suggests that storage in the UK is now transitioning from grid support services (power) to storage and arbitrage opportunities (energy). That seems to make sense and shows the industry transitioning naturally, I'd suggest?

How financing and revenue models are evolving in UK battery storage

The British Isles are to utility-scale batteries as the Galapagos Islands are to tortoises: the isolated island home to a curious, outsize, marginal, yet instructive population. However, the somewhat faster evolution of UK BESS merits more frequent study.

In reviewing 2021, LCP’s 2022 UK BESS Whitepaper uncovered a single over-arching theme: the start of the battery storage industry’s transition from solving power to solving energy.

The long-held promise of utility-scale batteries was always energy storage, yet that was never their principal application. They sold ancillary power reserves far more than they traded energy. However, that is starting to change. And it will change how batteries are financed.

The change from power (often discussed as ancillary services, and a “MW” focus) to energy (a.k.a. arbitrage and “MWh”) is subtle, but unmistakeable. 

Sticking with current grid storage needs (developing needs) here's just an article on more intraday storage for the grid:

EDF’s Pivot Power gets planning permission for next 100MW of 2GW UK BESS pipeline

EDF-owned battery storage developer-investor Pivot Power has secured planning permission for two 50MW/100MWh lithium-ion battery storage sites in the UK.

Both follow the rollout of other ‘superhubs’ in the West Midlands and Oxford by Pivot Power, which is targeting 2GW of transmission-connected battery storage and high-volume power connections.

And lastly an article on longer term storage, and (perhaps for us) the perfectly named - Long Duration Electricity Storage Alliance Group

UK’s energy minister talks decarbonisation with new Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance group

A meeting between energy storage industry representatives and the UK’s energy minister Greg Hands took place last week, with discussions centring on unlocking investment in energy storage technologies.

Organised by the Long-Duration Electricity Storage Alliance, the meeting saw representatives from energy companies Drax and SSE Renewables and technology providers Highview Power and Invinity Energy Systems meet with Hands, the Minister of State at the government Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

According to the Alliance, representatives spoke on how decarbonising the UK’s electricity system by 2035 will require a range of flexible home-grown, long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies in order to strengthen the contribution of renewables and deliver system stability.

A recent report from Aurora Energy Research highlighted the need for LDES, suggesting that up to 24GW of LDES could be needed to effectively manage the intermittency of renewable generation in line with a net zero electricity system by 2035.

I would have thought long duration storage would need to be measured in GWh as well as GW although I notice that this number is very similar to peak gas generation so perhaps wasn't too complex a calculation....

michaels

Martyn1981 said:

This is promising news. I suspect it's just Johnson changing his opinion to reflect what he thinks the public will like at any given time, but that works well for onshore wind.

The comments by ministers seem fair, reflecting the fact that the public seem to be far more accepting of onshore wind than it may have appeared 10yrs or so back. In fact the quarterly attitude surveys over the last 10yrs have shown a modest rise in approvals from about 67% to low 70's, but a large drop in opposition from 12% to 8%. It would seem fair to assume that if the visual impacts of onshore wind were really so bad over the last decade, then opposition would not have fallen by a third.

Johnson to defy cabinet fears and push for onshore wind expansion

Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.

The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.

Ministers have not yet made a final decision but one senior government source said Johnson was “open minded” and “passionate” about offshore wind.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has made clear publicly that he would like to see planning rules relaxed in order to facilitate the building of more onshore windfarms. Michael Gove, who oversees the planning system, has also spoken in favour.

Kwarteng has suggested the public’s opposition to windfarms has fallen away, given the push for net zero and the renewed interest in energy self-sufficiency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There were quite understandable political reasons that people didn’t want to see large-scale, onshore winds in their vicinity. I think that’s changed,” he told the i newspaper earlier this week. “I think the prime minister has been very clear that onshore wind has got to be part of the mix and we’ve got to look at planning.”

He added: “The argument about onshore wind in 2015 was a historic argument even before we committed to net zero and the circumstances today with Putin. Russia, Saudi Arabia, all of those things mean that we’ve got to have more energy independence and I think onshore renewables are absolutely part of that.”

The public say they are in favour until it is their back yard - the Lib Dems captured a safe Tory seat by the local candidate claiming they opposed lib dem national policy on housing development.

WE only have ourselves to blame.

ed110220

michaels said:

Martyn1981 said:

This is promising news. I suspect it's just Johnson changing his opinion to reflect what he thinks the public will like at any given time, but that works well for onshore wind.

The comments by ministers seem fair, reflecting the fact that the public seem to be far more accepting of onshore wind than it may have appeared 10yrs or so back. In fact the quarterly attitude surveys over the last 10yrs have shown a modest rise in approvals from about 67% to low 70's, but a large drop in opposition from 12% to 8%. It would seem fair to assume that if the visual impacts of onshore wind were really so bad over the last decade, then opposition would not have fallen by a third.

Johnson to defy cabinet fears and push for onshore wind expansion

Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.

The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.

Ministers have not yet made a final decision but one senior government source said Johnson was “open minded” and “passionate” about offshore wind.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has made clear publicly that he would like to see planning rules relaxed in order to facilitate the building of more onshore windfarms. Michael Gove, who oversees the planning system, has also spoken in favour.

Kwarteng has suggested the public’s opposition to windfarms has fallen away, given the push for net zero and the renewed interest in energy self-sufficiency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There were quite understandable political reasons that people didn’t want to see large-scale, onshore winds in their vicinity. I think that’s changed,” he told the i newspaper earlier this week. “I think the prime minister has been very clear that onshore wind has got to be part of the mix and we’ve got to look at planning.”

He added: “The argument about onshore wind in 2015 was a historic argument even before we committed to net zero and the circumstances today with Putin. Russia, Saudi Arabia, all of those things mean that we’ve got to have more energy independence and I think onshore renewables are absolutely part of that.”

The public say they are in favour until it is their back yard - the Lib Dems captured a safe Tory seat by the local candidate claiming they opposed lib dem national policy on housing development.

WE only have ourselves to blame.

A minority of people object to anything being built in their "back yard", including things generally regarded as necessary or desirable. That's the definition of a NIMBY and you can't base policy on it.

Near me some nimbies are objecting to a small organic farm/market garden because it will have some polytunnels. Now I'm pretty sure these nimbies aren't hunter gatherers and eat food grown on farms. We wouldn't say there should be no farms just because they don't want one near them. Some people would object to a mobile phone mast, but no-one seriously suggests we should go without mobile phone coverage. Some people wouldn't want a hospital built in front of their house, but no-one would seriously translate that into a policy of hospitals=bad, let's do do without hospitals.

Martyn1981

michaels said:

Martyn1981 said:

This is promising news. I suspect it's just Johnson changing his opinion to reflect what he thinks the public will like at any given time, but that works well for onshore wind.

The comments by ministers seem fair, reflecting the fact that the public seem to be far more accepting of onshore wind than it may have appeared 10yrs or so back. In fact the quarterly attitude surveys over the last 10yrs have shown a modest rise in approvals from about 67% to low 70's, but a large drop in opposition from 12% to 8%. It would seem fair to assume that if the visual impacts of onshore wind were really so bad over the last decade, then opposition would not have fallen by a third.

Johnson to defy cabinet fears and push for onshore wind expansion

Boris Johnson is expected to open the door to more onshore wind at next week’s energy strategy, despite some cabinet ministers lobbying against relaxing planning laws to allow more turbines.

The cabinet is split over whether to aim for more onshore wind projects, which can often get into lengthy planning battles, after officials drew up plans for a target of 30GW by 2030.

Ministers have not yet made a final decision but one senior government source said Johnson was “open minded” and “passionate” about offshore wind.

The business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has made clear publicly that he would like to see planning rules relaxed in order to facilitate the building of more onshore windfarms. Michael Gove, who oversees the planning system, has also spoken in favour.

Kwarteng has suggested the public’s opposition to windfarms has fallen away, given the push for net zero and the renewed interest in energy self-sufficiency since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There were quite understandable political reasons that people didn’t want to see large-scale, onshore winds in their vicinity. I think that’s changed,” he told the i newspaper earlier this week. “I think the prime minister has been very clear that onshore wind has got to be part of the mix and we’ve got to look at planning.”

He added: “The argument about onshore wind in 2015 was a historic argument even before we committed to net zero and the circumstances today with Putin. Russia, Saudi Arabia, all of those things mean that we’ve got to have more energy independence and I think onshore renewables are absolutely part of that.”

The public say they are in favour until it is their back yard - the Lib Dems captured a safe Tory seat by the local candidate claiming they opposed lib dem national policy on housing development.

WE only have ourselves to blame.

But each time there is a survey, that claim is shown to be a myth, oft repeated yes, but a myth with the majority of locals supporting RE deployments in their locality, and support actually grows when local RE exists (like me for one, I think they look great and make a positive addition to the local diversity and view).

Europeans support new wind and solar projects in their local area

Previous polling has consistently shown wide public support for wind and solar, but this new data underlines that Europeans not only want a lot more renewable energy, but they also want greater control over it at the local level, and when they are exposed to renewable energy in their communities, they become even more supportive of it.

Across Europe, 86% of people questioned said they would support new wind and solar projects near to where they live. They also expressed a strong interest in joining a local energy cooperative and supported government measures to accelerate the rollout of wind and solar power. 

This is in a nutshell what is revealed in a recent poll conducted in 10 European countries (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria) to better understand the public support for wind and solar.

Poll shows majority of people in UK want planning system reformed to enable more onshore wind farms

New independent polling commissioned by RenewableUK shows strong support for onshore wind, including reforming the planning system to enable more wind farms to be built.

70% of people agreed that the local planning system should broadly encourage the building of renewable energy projects like onshore wind, with only 9% opposed. Support was slightly higher (71%) among people already who live within five miles of a wind farm.

Majority in rural community support wind farms

Industry body, the Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA), says a recent study shows that 52 per cent of people in rural Ireland would support plans to build a wind farm in their area, while 15 per cent would oppose such a move.

According to the association’s Public Attitudes Monitor for November 2020, 82 per cent of people in the Republic support wind energy, while one in two “strongly favour” it. Opposition to it stands at 4 per cent.

And there's always the option of 'If you can't beat them, buy them':

Lower energy bills for people near wind turbines considered

The government is considering plans to lower people's energy bills based on how close they are to onshore wind turbines, the BBC has been told.

It's an idea the energy company Octopus offers some customers in Yorkshire and Caerphilly.

But the government is considering expanding this across the country.
There are currently strict planning rules about where onshore wind farms can be built in England, which inhibit the development of wind farms.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is in favour of loosening regulations to make it easier to approve plans for more onshore wind.