In the U.S., pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) already provides 95% of all utility-scale energy storage. So any innovations that cut costs or extend PSH usability should be well received. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its partners Obermeyer Hydro, Microtunneling Inc. and Small Hydro Consulting are demonstrating the advantages of a small pump installed in a vertical âwellâ rather than an underground powerhouse, one of the most … [Read more...]
Archives for September 2020
E-Trucks need infrastructure, not just cheaper batteries
The electrification of road freight has great potential, but there are some big gaps that first have to be bridged. Writing for IRENA, Dolf Gielen, Francisco Boshell, Guy Lentz and Sita Holtslag explain what needs to be done to ensure that the technological advances and cost reductions happening at the forefront of e-mobility are quickly delivered onto our roads. To illustrate the problem: in Europe over half of road freight is transported less … [Read more...]
Will Saudi Arabia build the worldâs largest green hydrogen and ammonia plant?
The Gulf is already a major producer and consumer of hydrogen, mainly for fertilisers and specialty chemicals. Like most hydrogen produced globally, it is the âgreyâ kind made from hydrocarbons. But the regionâs low renewable power costs and abundance of land give it the key components for the industrial scale production of green hydrogen. So in July, the Saudi model city of Neom (Neom means ânew futureâ) and ACWA Power signed a joint venture … [Read more...]
Zero U.S. power sector emissions by 2035, says Biden. How?
Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential hopeful, wants to reduce U.S. power sector emissions to zero by 2035. Thatâs more ambitious than Obama, and more than what Biden promised when campaigning to be the Democratâs candidate. His emphasis has been on the jobs and investment a green economy will create â language that has more voter appeal than reversing emissions. Meredith Fowlie at UC Berkeleyâs Energy Institute at Haas reviews the promises … [Read more...]
Franceâs recovery plan: will support for emissions-high sectors compromise a new Green economy?
The French recovery plan, formally presented today, combines emergency rescue measures, economic stimulus and longer-term investments. A substantial âŹ32bn out of the âŹ100bn budgeted is earmarked for the green economy. But SĂ©bastien Treyer at IDDRI asks whether rescue measures for traditionally emissions-high sectors - tourism, aviation, automotive, buildings, agri-food â will collide with climate targets. He references studies that should be used … [Read more...]
âElectro-swing cellâ captures CO2 direct from the air
The problem with capturing carbon from a power plant is that the CCS system is itself huge, expensive, consumes a lot of energy, and only works on exhaust streams with high concentrations of CO2. Whatâs more, to meet global CO2 targets, total atmospheric CO2 has to be reduced, not just held at todayâs concentrations by capturing new emissions alone. Writing for MIT, Nancy Stauffer explains how researchers there are piloting an âelectro-swing … [Read more...]
Europe could have subsidy-free Offshore Wind by 2023
A study has analysed offshore wind projects in 5 countries â the UK, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium â to show that wind farms due to be built after 2020 are converging towards a range of âŹ50-70/MWh. It wasnât long ago that such low prices were only predicted for 2050, say Iegor Riepin, Felix MĂŒsgens (Brandenburg University of Technology), Malte Jansen and Iain Staffell (Imperial College London), writing for Carbon Brief. To make … [Read more...]