The IEAās latest report on nuclear power recommends a doubling of capacity by 2050. It emphasises that, though many advanced economies are planning a decline, 32 nations have nuclear today and reactors are now under construction in 19 countries. Itās evidence of a momentum behind nuclear power that should be further stimulated by recent spikes in oil, gas and electricity prices, says the IEA. Russia and China remain nuclear advocates, which … [Read more...]
Grid Distribution Systems: access to usage data is uncovering the optimal design for future electrification
The more efficient a distribution grid is, the less likely other potential supply bottlenecks (from lithium for batteries to trained electricians) will slow the transition to greater and greater electrification. State-of-the-art modelling of future grids is already happening, but the robust modelling of the distribution system is conspicuously missing because good data are notoriously hard to find, says Meredith Fowlie at UC Berkeleyās Energy … [Read more...]
A role for Coal? Low-cost, negative emissions Blue Hydrogen from āMAWGSā Coal/Biomass co-gasification
Schalk Cloete summarises his co-authored study that explains how to make hydrogen at unbeatably low prices from coal/biomass co-gasification. Though the āblueā hydrogen process creates CO2, the self-contained plant using a membrane-assisted water-gas shift (MAWGS) reactor means 100% is captured easily. Better still, the use of biomass means the plant achieves negative emissions. The overall efficiency of the process is a very impressive 69%. The … [Read more...]
The Nordic Code: offsetting should be used to exceed, not meet, net-zero targets
Kenneth Mƶllersten and Lars Zetterberg at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Hanna-Mari Ahonen at Perspectives Climate Research explain the main issues around the draft āNordic Code of Best Practice for Voluntary Compensation of GHGā, published for consultation in June, which synthesises the most ambitious best practices for the voluntary use of carbon credits, including for offsetting. Focussing on non-state actors, the Nordic Code … [Read more...]
Deep Geothermal: accessing 500Ā°C for steam turbines. Can it make coal, gas, nuclear redundant?
The concept of ādeep geothermalā is very simple. Dig deep enough, like 20km, to access a permanent reservoir of 500Ā°C of heat. There, you generate the steam to power your turbines. The digging of a stable hole and getting the steam to the turbine is the big engineering challenge. But if you find a way that allows you to do it anywhere in the world (i.e. not limiting yourself to existing geological formations), nobody will ever need other … [Read more...]
If Russia cuts off its gas supply can we achieve EU storage targets for winter?
Calvin Triems at Energy Brainpool summarises their analysis of whether and how Europe can achieve its storage targets for 2022. There are four scenarios: āBase Caseā; āNordstream@40%ā where thereās no change to Russiaās mid-June gas flow cut to 40%; āNordstream@40% + No Freeportā where the unexpected fire in early June at the U.S. Freeport LNG terminal remains unresolved for months; āNordstream@0% + No Freeportā where Russia cuts off supply … [Read more...]
Methane emissions reach unexpected new highs. Is climate change causing a runaway effect?
Simon Redfern at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore summarises his co-authored study that says methane emissions are four times more sensitive to climate change than that estimated in the latest IPCC report, which was only published in February 2022. The study follows the observation that, despite the pandemic stalling the world economy, methane emissions have reached new highs. Not because methane emissions have risen but because … [Read more...]
Record global clean energy spending, but itās still not enough and costs are rising
Since 2020, clean energy investment has grown by 12% per year ā it was only 2%/year during the five years after the 2015 Paris Agreement. That boost is the main reason why total global energy investment is set to reach $2.4tn in 2022, according to the latest āWorld Energy Investmentā report from the IEA. Itās very good news that spending on solar PV, batteries and EVs is now growing at rates consistent with reaching global net zero emissions by … [Read more...]
Will price caps on Russian oil work? Three experts debate
Whatever the G7 does, the objective is to cut revenues flowing into Russia, not oil flowing out. And whatever the sanctions, getting compliance from neutral and pro-Russian countries will need a strong positive incentive. Hence the idea of a price cap which would keep prices low. Here, three experts ā Edward Fishman and Brian OāToole at the Atlantic Council, and Mark Mozur at S&P Global Commodity Insights (with background by Atlantic … [Read more...]
SAFFiRE: cheap, Sustainable Aviation Fuel from agricultural waste
SAFFiRE (Sustainable Aviation Fuel From [i] Renewable Ethanol) is a 10-ton-per-day pilot plant project. The goal is 7bn gallons of sustainable, low-carbon aviation fuel by 2040. Ryan Horns at NREL explains that the sustainable fuel is made from corn stover, an agricultural waste product, chemically broken down into sugars that can then be converted to fuels. The SAFFiRE process can take advantage of the existing infrastructure of over 200 ethanol … [Read more...]
Project Air: building a first-of-a-kind, large-scale sustainable methanol plant for the chemicals industry
Project Air is creating a first-of-a-kind, large-scale sustainable methanol plant. It uses CCU for converting CO2, residue streams, green hydrogen and biomethane into methanol. Itās a collaboration between specialty chemicals innovator Perstorp (Sweden) and energy firms Fortum (Finland) and Uniper (Germany). Perstorp aims to be the first chemical producer to replace all fossil-based methanol for its European production facilities (200,000 tons … [Read more...]
Event summary: ā45% RES by 2030: EUās latest investment challenge to DSOsā
Sara Stefanini provides a written summary of our panel discussion held on Thursday June 30th 2022. Itās a full summary of the 90 minute discussion (including audience questions), but it begins conveniently with a summary of the highlights. Investment in and the modernisation of the electricity distribution grid is one the biggest challenges the EU has to overcome in the next decade. Itās a ā¬400bn investment challenge by 2050 says Eurelectric, an … [Read more...]
100% green shipping would add less than 10 cents to the cost of Nike trainers from China
Upcoming EU policies intended to cut shipping emissions would add just a few cents to the cost of goods all the way from China, says an analysis by T&E. Extending carbon pricing to shipping and mandating small amounts of green e-fuel use by 2030 will mean a pair of trainers would cost just ā¬0.003 more, a television ā¬0.03 and a refrigerator up to ā¬0.27 more. Itās because final costs are not very sensitive to fuel costs. The more startling … [Read more...]
Imposing a $50/barrel tariff on Russian oil is the best sanction
Is there a way to impose sanctions on Russia that cuts its revenues without causing fossil fuel prices to balloon? The current strategy has seen oil prices rise to $120/barrel by mid-June, so although volumes are down Russia has seen no reduction in revenues. In other words, it has not achieved its objective, says Edward Chow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Instead, he argues for imposing a big import tariff ā like … [Read more...]
Interpreting the Paris Agreement: the 1.5C and 2C targets are not two different options
Carl-Friedrich Schleussner and Gaurav Ganti at Humboldt University of Berlin, writing for Carbon Brief, want to clear up confusion over the 1.5C and 2C pathways. Their concern is that some people are interpreting the Paris Agreementās wording as two separate targets, one simply better than the other. But they should not be seen as two different options. The objective of āwell below 2Cā must be seen by modellers and policy-makers as a clear … [Read more...]
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