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Utah: 140MW Geothermal bid can beat the cost and performance of the proposed Nuclear SMR

January 27, 2023 by Dennis Wamsted

The U.S. state of Utah is processing an agreement for a new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to provide baseline and dispatchable power. The SMR bid quotes a price of $89/MWh. But cost overruns will tie the state’s consumers to whatever high prices entail, says Dennis Wamsted at IEEFA. Now a geothermal bid from NV Energy has been presented that offers the same capacity at around $70/MWh. Wamsted explains why the 140MW geothermal project would meet … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Geothermal, Nuclear Tagged With: baseline, costs, dispatchable, electricity, geothermal, Nuclear, prices, renewables, SMR, UAMPS, US, Utah, variable

How to sell Heat Pumps to the public in Europe

January 19, 2023 by Helena Uhde

In EU households, 62.8% of energy consumption is for space heating, and another 15.1% for water heating, mostly powered by fossil fuels. Heating and cooling is responsible for 52% of final energy demand in Europe. So, with REPowerEU, the EU has once again strengthened support for heat pumps to achieve energy independence and climate goals. Heat pump sales in Europe grew by an unprecedented 34% in 2021, thanks to a total 2.18m heat pump units … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, HVAC Tagged With: cooling, costs, decarbonisation, efficiency, electrification, EU, Hallstatt, heating, HeatPumps, HVAC, REPowerEU, sales, subsidies

Doubling clean energy investments from “natural” redirection of existing spend on infrastructure, buildings, fossils +more

December 19, 2022 by Stephen Peake

Annual investments in clean energy stand at $1.4tn, now greater than investments in fossil fuels ($1tn). But that needs to double by 2030. This steep climb will be made easier by the natural cycle of global investment, as well as the cost-benefits of abandoning fossil fuels for renewables and greater efficiencies, says Stephen Peake at The Open University. Each year, around a quarter of our GDP is anyway spent on new machinery, buildings and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Investment Tagged With: buildings, costs, efficiency, Environment, fossils, infrastructure, investment, renewables

Small Modular Reactor cost overruns: the same old problems haunt new nuclear in Utah

November 25, 2022 by David Schlissel

Much hope is being placed on Small Modular Reactors (SMR) making new nuclear plants competitive. But David Schlissel at IEEFA summarises their research into the publications, updates and statements coming from the stakeholders involved with the SMR by UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems) and NuScale Power Corporation that shows that costs are going out of control, a persistent problem in the nuclear industry. The original target power … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Nuclear Tagged With: construction, costs, delays, electricity, Fluor, grids, Nuclear, NuScale, power, SMR, UAMPS, Utah

Can Enhanced Geothermal Systems be used as grid-scale batteries? Anywhere!

November 23, 2022 by Stefan Ellerbeck

The US Department of Energy aims to cut the cost of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) by 90% by 2035. Standard geothermal power comes from tapping existing hydrothermal reservoirs. But most places don’t have hot water reservoirs underground. EGS pumps water down to reach hot rocks, heating the water to achieve the same purpose. Everywhere has hot rocks underground. Here, Stefan Ellerbeck, writing for the World Economic Forum, describes research … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Storage Tagged With: batteries, costs, EGS, geothermal, grids, solar, storage, US, water, wind

Pollution costs are driving U.S. states to look for alternatives to Gas-Fired Plants

November 4, 2022 by Caitlin Odom and Lauren Shwisberg

In the U.S. a growing number of states and regulators are directing utilities to look for alternatives to proposed gas-fired power plants, citing environmental justice and community health impacts, explain Caitlin Odom and Lauren Shwisberg at RMI. So it’s not just about emissions: pollution matters too. The authors quote studies that show clean energy portfolios (CEPs) not only reduce energy costs, but can save billions of dollars in community … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: Arizona, California, costs, DemandResponse, efficiency, Environment, gas, health, IRA, justice, Oregon, pollution, solar, storage, US, wind

U.S. Residential Distributed Solar: still getting cheaper, installation and permitting too, more batteries

October 20, 2022 by John Rogers

John Rogers at UCS reviews the new and comprehensive “Tracking the Sun” report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory which covers both residential and non-residential “grid-connected, distributed” solar PV systems in the U.S. There has been clear progress across the board, including PV module efficiency, system costs, installation and permitting, and the uptake of batteries. For example, median efficiency for modules in residential systems … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: batteries, California, costs, distributed, efficiency, grids, Hawaii, installation, IRA, modules, NonResidential, permitting, residential, solar, storage, Texas

EU Solar has avoided 20bcm of gas imports and saved €29bn

September 26, 2022 by Paweł Czyżak

Solar generation in the EU has avoided the import of 20bcm of gas that would have cost €29bn, explains PaweĹ‚ CzyĹĽak at Ember, writing for Carbon Brief. The new solar power added since 2021 alone avoided €6bn of gas imports. Record EU solar generation increased by 28% in the summer of 2022, compared with the same period a year earlier. And it’s growing very quickly, with a consistent 15% year-on-year increases in installed solar capacity – from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: costs, EU, gas, Germany, imports, Netherlands, Poland, renewables, solar, spain, Ukraine

Modelling green Ammonia and Methanol in 2050. It will be expensive

September 9, 2022 by Schalk Cloete

Schalk Cloete starts by explaining that it is unrealistic to expect clean electrification to carry the main burden of energy supply. Even a fast roll out will be constrained by a range of infrastructure and cost limitations. Hence our continued dependence on fuels, with their high energy density and ease of transport. Those fuels will have to be made clean, so he summarises his co-authored papers that model the cost of green and blue ammonia and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Alternative fuels, Energy Tagged With: ammonia, blue, carbon, CCS, CDR, costs, electrification, gas, green, GreenFuels, methanol, prices, VRE

Aluminium, sulphur and salt batteries. Cheaper than lithium-ion, for homes and EV charging stations

September 7, 2022 by David Chandler

The high and escalating demand for the lithium-ion batteries that dominate the market is driving the search for alternatives. Ideally, they will be made from inexpensive, abundant materials. David Chandler at MIT describes research there into a design that uses aluminium and sulphur as its two electrode materials, with a molten salt electrolyte in-between. The results point at batteries that have a projected cost per cell of about one-sixth that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Storage Tagged With: aluminium, batteries, charging, costs, electrolyte, EVs, innovation, lithium, research, residential, salt, storage, sulphur

What will an international marketplace for Hydrogen look like?

July 25, 2022 by Herib Blanco

Though any nation can in theory make its own hydrogen, some will be able to do it much more cheaply than others. Herib Blanco at IRENA summarises their study that looks at the factors that determine the difference, along with the hydrogen transport costs that will influence the global trade that should emerge. By 2050, those transport costs could reach levels below $1/kgH2 once economies of scale are reached and supply chains are fully developed. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Hydrogen Tagged With: ammonia, costs, hydrogen, markets, pipelines, shipping, SupplyChains, trade, transport

Clean Turquoise Hydrogen: a pathway to commercial readiness

July 22, 2022 by Schalk Cloete

Whereas blue hydrogen from methane produces CO2, the by-product of turquoise hydrogen is pure carbon. The obvious advantage is you can make your hydrogen without the need for expensive new infrastructure to transport and store any CO2. Turquoise hydrogen is only at the start-up phase, so Schalk Cloete summarises his co-authored paper that looks at various scenarios to estimate the cost of producing the hydrogen (using molten salt pyrolysis) and, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Hydrogen Tagged With: blue, carbon, CO2, costs, hydrogen, methane, MoltenSaltPyrolysis, prices, turquoise

Energy security concerns are building momentum for Nuclear

July 19, 2022 by IEA

The IEA’s 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. It’s 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...]

Filed Under: Energy, Nuclear Tagged With: Canada, China, costs, electricity, EnergySecurity, France, innovation, investment, Nuclear, Russia, SMRs, UK, US

Grid Distribution Systems: access to usage data is uncovering the optimal design for future electrification

July 18, 2022 by Meredith Fowlie

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 Berkeley’s Energy … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: buildings, charging, costs, data, Distribution, electrification, EVs, grids, HVAC, rooftop, SmartCharging, solar

A role for Coal? Low-cost, negative emissions Blue Hydrogen from “MAWGS” Coal/Biomass co-gasification

July 15, 2022 by Schalk Cloete

Schalk Cloete summarises his co-authored study that explains how to make hydrogen at unbeatably low prices from coal/biomass co-gasification. Though the “blue” 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...]

Filed Under: Energy, Hydrogen, Oil, Gas & Coal Tagged With: biomass, blue, CCS, CDR, coal, costs, DistrictHeating, efficiency, hydrogen, LCOH, MAWGS

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      Recent Posts

      Wind (and Solar) need their own Financial Transmission Rights to hedge their unique congestion risks

      The U.S. should support the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

      Utah: 140MW Geothermal bid can beat the cost and performance of the proposed Nuclear SMR

      Make Hydrogen in developing nations: share prosperity while meeting our climate goals

      Smart Glasses: experts can monitor and advise on power plant inspections anywhere in the world

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