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“Flow Batteries” for grid-scale storage: modelling cheaper alternatives to Vanadium

June 7, 2023 by Nancy Stauffer

Flow batteries are a promising new technology for grid storage. Rather than the standard batteries that store charge in a solid material, they use a solution to store that charge, making large-scale long-duration electricity storage much easier. Vanadium electrolytes have been the preferred choice so far, but affordable supplies are limited and a cheaper alternative will be needed for global scale-up, explains Nancy Stauffer at MIT who describes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations, Storage Tagged With: batteries, costs, degradation, electrolytes, FlowBatteries, grids, iron, LCOE, lifetime, manganese, modelling, organic, research, Vanadium

“Exascale” computing algorithms can deliver new Wind Turbine designs and on-site power-maximising strategies

May 17, 2023 by Brooke Van Zandt

Advances in exascale computing algorithms and models for multiscale atmospheric flows are leading to new wind turbine designs and on-site power-maximising strategies previously not possible, explains Brooke Van Zandt at NREL. The models can contain and process two billion grid points, simulating the air flow around turbines in a large wind farm with unprecedented accuracy. Van Zandt describes how the new tools are being used to deal with highly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Innovations, Renewables Tagged With: algorithms, computing, derating, design, exascale, farm, modelling, turbines, turbulence, wake, wind

IPCC’s latest AR6 synthesis report lacks urgency and realism. Its own numbers say so

April 11, 2023 by Kevin Anderson

Kevin Anderson at the University of Manchester explains his deep disappointment in the recently released and influential IPCC AR6 synthesis report. Even the mainstream media criticised the lack of urgency in the language. Anderson’s objections go further. He says the report’s own figures show net-zero must be reached by 2040, not the “early 2050s” as stated. Anderson goes on to criticise the modelling used as the standard, saying it is formulated … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: AR6, emissions, equity, IAM, IPCC, JustTransition, modelling, report, synthesis

New U.S. study: damage per ton of CO2 costs $185, not the official $51

October 7, 2022 by Maximilian Auffhammer

Maximilian Auffhammer at the Energy Institute at Haas reviews a new paper that suggests CO2 causes over three times as much damage in dollar terms as the figure currently used by the US government, $51 per ton. The new study shows $185 per ton of CO2 as the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC). The updated model is superior to previous models, says Auffhammer. It’s also open source, so anyone can use it, criticise it, and tweak the numbers to get … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: agriculture, CO2, damage, emissions, Energy, modelling, mortality, SCC, SeaLevel, US

Interpreting the Paris Agreement: the 1.5C and 2C targets are not two different options

June 30, 2022 by Carl-Friedrich Schleussner and Gaurav Ganti

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 Agreement’s wording as two separate targets, one simply better than the other. But they should not be seen as two different options. The objective of “well below 2C” must be seen by modellers and policy-makers as a clear … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: emissions, FitFor55, ghg, modelling, netzero, Paris2015, pathways, scenarios

Latest U.S. modelling shows Battery Storage can support an 80% Renewables grid by 2050

May 18, 2022 by Madeline Geocaris

NREL’s latest Storage Futures Study concludes that battery storage should be able to support an 80% renewables grid mix in the U.S. by 2050. Madeline Geocaris at NREL explains how they modelled hundreds of future scenarios to accurately represent the value of diurnal (<12 hours) battery energy storage. The high-storage scenarios made different cost and performance assumptions for storage, wind, solar PV, and natural gas. 15 storage … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Storage Tagged With: batteries, buildings, costs, distributed, diurnal, gas, lithium, modelling, PV, rooftop, scenarios, solar, storage, US, wind

What’s best? Building Solar panels that last 30 years, or are short-lived easy-to-recycle and upgrade

April 27, 2022 by Harrison Dreves

The good news is that PV modules last so long – 30 years – that we don’t have to worry about recycling for a while. The bad news is that means we’re not thinking about the alternative pathway of deliberately building modules that last only a few years yet can be easily recycled and improved. Harrison Dreves at NREL describes the data-gathering and creation of a modelling tool that quantifies the flow of materials, energy, and carbon in the PV … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: circular, investment, jobs, modelling, modules, PV, recycling, solar

An open-source standardised toolkit for modelling Marine Energy

April 13, 2022 by Caitlin McDermott-Murphy

New innovations need a lot of high quality modelling. That means collecting real world data, then coding the programs that run the models. This is labour intensive and takes time to do properly. The modelling needs to be standardised too, otherwise direct comparisons between competing ideas are virtually impossible. Caitlin McDermott-Murphy at NREL describes the latest version of their Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit (MHKiT) for modelling a wide … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: Coding, Energy, marine, modelling, ocean, river, standardisation, US

All estimates of the ‘cost’ of climate action should include the savings and benefits

March 29, 2022 by Alexandre Köberle, Toon Vandyck, Céline Guivarch and Joeri Rogelj

Too many climate mitigation scenarios calculate the cost of that transition without measuring the savings and benefits, explain Alexandre Köberle and Joeri Rogelj at Imperial College London, Toon Vandyck at the EC's Joint Research Centre, and Celine Guivarch at the Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnement et le Developpement, writing for Carbon Brief. This leads to a pessimistic view of the challenges ahead, and public aversion to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Energy Outlooks Tagged With: agriculture, biodiversity, Climate, health, inequality, infrastructure, IPCC, modelling, productivity, scenarios, transition, wellbeing

Open-source modelling for the energy transition and climate change

February 22, 2022 by Helen Farrell

Modelling tools are becoming increasingly important to policy makers for creating transition pathways. More detail is required as the pace of change accelerates. Yet complexity is increasing as new technologies and solutions come online. And those models are needed at the local level, not just the national and global. It’s why the EU is funding, through Horizon 2020, a range of projects to not only make those tools a success, but make them freely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: BehaviourChange, COACCH, EU, EUCalc, Horizon2020, LOCOMOTION, modelling, Open Entrance, pathways, scenarios, SENTINEL

Grid-scale modelling of Distributed Energy Resources and dynamic pricing for all customers

February 7, 2022 by James Conca

Smart grids can solve multiple problems now and throughout the lifetime of the energy transition. The supply from hundreds (existing + new wind, solar, etc.) and ultimately millions (rooftop solar, EV batteries) of power sources can be matched in real time with demand from all major customer devices (air conditioners, water heaters, batteries, EVs). Dynamic pricing keeps the peaks low and the troughs high. It takes the pressure off total load, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: AI, batteries, dynamic, ERCOT, EVs, grids, HVAC, modelling, PNNL, pricing, rooftop, Shanghai, smart, solar, Spokane, Stem, storage, Texas, US, wind

Using ENTSO-E’s modelling for China’s grid expansion

January 17, 2022 by Helen Farrell

The EU and China have similar challenges when expanding their complex grid network. Both have large populations and multiple borders (China has 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities and two administrative regions). Both must rapidly add clean power whilst ensuring energy security at the lowest cost. Helen Farrell at ECECP describes their project to use European ENTSO-E modelling tools to assess scenarios for China. One key … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Grids Tagged With: China, Covid, electricity, ENTSOE, EU, grids, modelling, networks, prices, renewables, security

Intelligent, flexible Sector Coupling in cities can double the potential for Wind and Solar

December 16, 2021 by Yong Chen and Dolf Gielen

This week the European Commission tabled the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which should accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings. Buildings and cities play a key role in the energy transition. And the target high shares of variable renewable power supply will be much more easily achieved if the sectors using them display demand flexibility. In essence, that means using or storing the excess wind and solar generation … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Buildings, Energy, Renewables Tagged With: buildings, charging, China, Cities, coupling, demand, EC, epbd, EVs, flexibility, heating, HVAC, hydrogen, modelling, sector, smart, solar, storage, thermal, VRE, wind

Politicians need net-zero scenarios that include socio-economic obstacles and solutions

November 18, 2021 by Henri Waisman and Patrick Criqui

Standard net-zero scenario modelling carefully analyses the possible impacts of technological solutions and their obstacles. What they’re missing is the detailed analysis of the socio-economic impacts of these scenarios on the lives of citizens. That means jobs, incomes, energy bills, air quality, and regional economic performance. In other words, the politics on the ground. Misunderstood, and perfectly sensible pathways will come up against … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Policies Tagged With: COP26, elections, France, jobs, JustTransition, modelling, pathways, Politics, scenarios

Climate change, “wind droughts” and the implications for Wind energy

November 15, 2021 by Hannah Bloomfield

What effect will changing trends in regional wind speeds have on the future of wind energy? Very large, considering that a small change in wind speed has a big effect on the power output of a turbine (it’s related to the cube of the wind speed). Hannah Bloomfield at the University of Bristol first looks at the “wind drought” experienced in Europe this year which saw SSE in the UK report a 32% drop in power from its renewable assets. Meanwhile, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Renewables Tagged With: drought, EU, Europe, IPCC, modelling, scenarios, speeds, UK, wind

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  • U.S. Inflation Reduction Act: one year on, a summary of impressive progress in the energy transition by Hannah Perkins | posted on September 19, 2023
  • 10 Carbon Capture methods compared: costs, scalability, permanence, cleanness by Ella Adlen | posted on November 11, 2019
  • Industry’s EU ETS reforms and CBAM: how firms can turn the rising cost of carbon into competitive advantage by Pablo Ruiz | posted on September 25, 2023
  • Affordable €25k EVs by 2025: Europe’s carmakers can do it. Instead they’re making more profitable SUVs by Transport & Environment | posted on September 22, 2023
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  • Oil & Gas business is fatally flawed: Russia-Ukraine only delayed the relentless decline in prices by Clark Williams-Derry | posted on September 21, 2023
  • Understanding the new EU ETS (Part 2): Buildings, Road Transport, Fuels. And how the revenues will be spent by Simon Göss | posted on February 6, 2023
  • Micro-nuclear reactors: up to 20MW, portable, safer by Christina Nunez | posted on April 22, 2021
  • Concawe Symposium tackles climate and pollution as RED commits fuel companies to 29% renewable content from 2030 by Matthew James | posted on September 22, 2023
  • Though the price shocks hurt, Renewables installed between 2021-23 saved Europe €100bn by Joe Myers | posted on September 18, 2023
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  • Agrivoltaics: GWs of solar power from farmland using strategically placed panels (and raising crop yields) by Joshua Pearce | posted on September 26, 2023
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  • EU Energy Outlook to 2060: how will power prices and revenues develop for wind, solar, gas, hydrogen + more by Alex Schmitt | posted on December 6, 2022
  • Gravity Batteries: any nation can do it at scale using rocks by Simon Read | posted on July 27, 2022
  • The 10 big problems with simply replacing fossil cars with electric by Schalk Cloete | posted on December 6, 2021
  • Farming Algae for Carbon Capture: new research cuts “fouling.” Scale-up in 3 years? by David Chandler | posted on June 21, 2023
  • EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework: new rules to turn greenwashing into genuine removals by Simon Göss | posted on May 16, 2023
  • Can Aluminium-air batteries outperform Li-ion for EVs? by Helena Uhde | posted on September 8, 2021
  • Can we expect Gas price volatility and spikes this winter? Why? by Michael Bradshaw | posted on September 8, 2023

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      Recent Posts

      Concrete supercapacitor: works like a battery, much cheaper, easy to make

      Agrivoltaics: GWs of solar power from farmland using strategically placed panels (and raising crop yields)

      Industry’s EU ETS reforms and CBAM: how firms can turn the rising cost of carbon into competitive advantage

      Concawe Symposium tackles climate and pollution as RED commits fuel companies to 29% renewable content from 2030

      Affordable €25k EVs by 2025: Europe’s carmakers can do it. Instead they’re making more profitable SUVs

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