The Alternative Green Energy Thread

JKenH

MITSUBISHI HEAVY PROMISES TO BUILD A PORTABLE REACTOR IN THE 2030S AND A PORTABLE REACTOR ON THE TRUCK IN THE 2030S

A bit nearer Boris’s plan for us all to have nuclear reactors in our back gardens.

https://game-news24.com/2022/04/19/mitsubishi-heavy-promises-to-build-a-portable-reactor-in-the-2030s-and-a-portable-reactor-on-the-truck-in-the-2030s/

1961Nick

JKenH said:

A bit nearer Boris’s plan for us all to have nuclear reactors in our back gardens.

Will we get a yellow wheelie bin for the spent fuel rods?

Alnat1

I hope the binmen don't drop them all over the street like they do with the tin cans.

thevilla

It'll save on de icing.

JKenH

What does China’s coal push mean for its climate goals?

We should be very concerned about China’s rapid expansion of its coal mining and coal powered generation. China’s push to renewables and EVs is quite clearly aimed at reducing pollution and improving energy security rather than CO2 reductions. Pollution is an issue in China and hence the focus on the build out of cleaner power stations to replace old plants. China it seems plans to continue to operate coal fired plants for many years to balance out intermittency issues with renewables. EVs are being pushed to assist in pollution reduction but at the same time they reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil. 

The more the West becomes dependent on Chinese technology and production (think RE and EVs) the stronger China becomes politically. At the same time China is becoming strategically stronger as it reduces its dependence on imported fossil fuels. We have seen how Europe has sat on its hands over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fearing the loss of a gas supply. No doubt China is aiming to be in a position of strength economically when it eventually invades Taiwan such that the West (Europe in particular) will not actually dare to impose sanctions as it would come off worse. 

A long article below but worth a read (unless you actually believe China is pushing RE to reduce CO2 emissions rather than for strategic purposes).

A recent Bloomberg article reflects Gray’s concern. The outlet reported on 14 March that China is planning “a massive increase” in coal mining in a move that “will dramatically reduce” its dependence on coal imports and “deal a blow to its near-term climate actions”. It said that such an increase in mining would cut China’s “already scant” reliance on foreign coal “after global prices hit record levels in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”. 

A separate Bloomberg report said that the effects of the coal push “could already be evident from space” due to a “powerful cloud” of methane captured by a satellite above China. In a report published on 21 March, the outlet said that a boost in coal mining may have led to the plume of methane – a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with an estimated warming potential of around 30 times that of CO2 – that has been detected in a location near a coal mine in Inner Mongolia. 

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-what-does-chinas-coal-push-mean-for-its-climate-goals/

shinytop

China will do whatever is best for China.  If that happens to reduce world C02 emissions then that's a bonus.  

The other worrying thing is that because they have long term plans largely unaffected by trivial political diversions, they will probably succeed in whatever their aims are.  

But as long as we keep buying Teslas and batteries from them to reduce our CO2 footprints everything will be fine, won't it?

JKenH

China Is Redrawing the World’s Energy Map

Beijing is positioned to be a winner in the energy transition. Is the rest of the world ready?

China accounts for 4% of the world’s petroleum output and a roughly similar proportion of its natural gas. By contrast, it mines almost 60% of the world’s rare earth minerals used in rechargeable batteries for electric cars, lasers, and wind turbines and processes more. China is the largest aluminum producer by far and dominates the extraction of graphite used in solar panels and batteries. Beijing has a tight grip on lesser-known minerals such as scandium, germanium, and tungsten—all on the European Union’s critical list of resources with high economic importance and at risk of supply disruptions, as Western governments begin to face the reality of their own vulnerabilities.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-10/china-is-redrawing-the-world-s-energy-map

gefnew

Some home grown news about rare earth magnets.
Hull: Saltend rare earth magnets factory gets go-ahead - BBC News

JKenH

Norway Is Running Out of Gas-Guzzling Cars to Tax

The oil producing nation is learning what happens after a country fills its roads with electric vehicles.

I posted this on the BEV news thread but it got removed (presumably because of the accompanying comment about why it wasn’t a problem for Norway but it was for the UK) along with my other comment about what I thought of Norway’s ethics. 

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/norway-electric-vehicle-tax

shinytop

JKenH said:

Norway Is Running Out of Gas-Guzzling Cars to Tax

The oil producing nation is learning what happens after a country fills its roads with electric vehicles.

I posted this on the BEV news thread but it got removed (presumably because of the accompanying comment about why it wasn’t a problem for Norway but it was for the UK) along with my other comment about what I thought of Norway’s ethics. 

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/norway-electric-vehicle-tax

So who gets to delete posts they don't like?