2018-06-07 Energy Week, Episode 266

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, May 31:

Vertical farm (Image ©Brunel University London)

• “New System Significantly Reduces Power Consumption of Vertical Farms”
  The energy efficiency of vertical farms could soon be boosted by as much as 20%. A new system developed by a student from Brunel University London. vFarm, by design student Jonny Reader, uses OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) and smart automation to reduce the amount of power used in vertical farming. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
• “New Wind XII Project Would Put MidAmerican Energy At 100% Renewables”
  MidAmerican Energy proposed building a 591-MW wind farm and formally filed with the Iowa Utilities Board. The company said that it will be the first investor-owned electric utility in the country to generate renewable energy equal to 100% of its customers’ usage on an annual basis, when the Wind XII project is finished. [North American Windpower]

Block Island wind farm (Deepwater Wind)

• “Revolution jobs bonanza in US”
  Deepwater Wind’s 400-MW Revolution Wind offshore wind farm is expected to create over 800 jobs during construction and 50 permanent positions in the state of Rhode island. The developer is also planning to invest $250 million in the state, including $40 million in port investment. Work on the project could start as early as 2020. [reNews]

Friday, June 1:

• “AT&T Announces ‘Zero Waste’ Goal For 100 Facilities By End Of 2020”
  American telecom giant AT&T has announced this week a new goal to achieve “zero waste” at 100 of its facilities by the end of 2020, as part of its larger environmental commitments and policies. AT&T’s other environmental and energy achievements of this year have included a power purchase agreement for 520 MW of wind power. [CleanTechnica]

Polluting power plant (Photo: Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg)

• “Trump to Grant Lifeline to Money-Losing Coal Power Plants”
  Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an effort to extend their life. The DOE would exercise federal emergency authority for the unprecedented intervention into US energy markets, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg News. [Bloomberg]
• “General Motors and Fiat Chrysler unveil self-driving deals”
  The race to lead America’s self-driving car market moved up a gear. Japan’s SoftBank is putting $2.25 billion (€1.92 billion, £1.7 billion) into GM’s autonomous unit Cruise, one of the biggest single investments in self-driving technology. And Waymo, which is owned by Google, is buying up to 62,000 Fiat Chrysler minivans for its autonomous fleet. [BBC]

Saturday,  June 2:

Closed coal power plant – the technology Trump wants to save

• “Breaking Down the Opposition to DOE’s Emergency Coal and Nuclear Bailout Plan”
  It is hard to overstate how negative the reactions have been to news that the Trump Administration is directing the US DOE to find ways to force Americans to buy power from uncompetitive coal and nuclear plants in the name of national security. [Greentech Media]
• “Pope to address oil majors in Vatican climate conference”
  The Vatican will host executives of the top oil companies for a conference next week on climate change and the transition away from fossil fuels, a Vatican source said. Pope Francis, who wrote a major document on protection of the environment from global warming in 2015, is expected to address the group on the last day of the conference. [Reuters Africa]

Coal-burning power plant

• “Social Cost Of Coal Must Now Be Considered By Washington Utilities”
  The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission directed three utility companies in the state to include the social cost of coal in their future planning. These include the costs of effects on human health and environmental damage. The social cost of coal will be $42 per metric ton by 2020 and will rise to $60 per metric ton by 2040. [CleanTechnica]
• “Buffett buys a gigawatt of solar power and 400 MWh of energy storage, maybe”
  Only a day after MidAmerican Energy announced it would become the first investor-owned utility to be 100% renewable energy by 2020 with a 591-MW wind farm, it had more news. MidAmerican subsidiary NV Energy will procure power from 1001 MW of new solar projects and 100 MW/400 MWh of battery storage. [pv magazine USA]

Sunday,  June 3:

Trump’s vision of a great America

• “Trump’s Coal Rescue Plan Will Force Taxpayers To Bail Out A Dying Industry”
  The Trump administration is considering a plan to order utilities to buy power from coal-burning plants. It is a plant that would force you to buy more expensive, dirtier electricity that is more likely to cause you health problems and perhaps even premature death. [CleanTechnica]
• “What happens to our trash and recycling in Winona? We followed a cereal box through the process”
  I followed a cereal box and its liner through the trash and recycling processes. They went through a journey involving companies in three states, loud machinery, and in the case of the box, a potential trade war with China. [Winona Daily News]

Monday,  June 4:

Flash flood (Kenneth K Lam | The Baltimore Sun via AP)

• “Sea level rise is pushing coastal property owners to move to higher ground”
  Multiple scientific studies indicate that concern about climate change is having impacts on values of real estate that may be exposed to flooding. This is especially evidenced by beachfront real estate markets. Not surprisingly, property owners who see increased coastal flooding due to slowly rising sea levels are moving to higher ground. [CNN]
• “The world set a new record for renewable power in 2017, but emissions are still rising”
  In 2017, the world set a new record for renewable-power capacity added to the grid. In fact, the money spent on renewable installations was more than twice the sum spent on nuclear and fossil-fuel power, according to the annual Global Status Report published by renewables policy group REN21. But it was not enough to reduce emissions. [Quartz]
• “Big investors urge G7 to step up climate action, shift from coal”
  Institutional investors managing $26 trillion in assets called on Group of Seven leaders to phase out the use of coal in power generation to help limit climate change. Their call came despite strong opposition from Washington. They wrote that the Paris Agreement plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions were too weak to limit warming. [GMA News]

Tuesday,  June 5:

Offshore oil rig (Photo: SPL)

• “Carbon ‘bubble’ could cost global economy trillions”
  A rapid reduction in demand for fossil fuels could see global economic losses of $1 trillion to $4 trillion by 2035 according to a report. Energy efficiency and low carbon technology could cause the downturn, even if governments fail to take new steps to meet the Paris climate goals. [BBC]
• “China putting major brakes on solar deployment as new market rules imposed”
  In a coordinated move, three administrative agencies of the Chinese government issued a notice imposing caps and reducing feed-in tariffs, while setting rules at the central government level for utility-scale projects. The aim of the “2018 Solar PV Power Generation Notice” is to prevent excessive solar PV generation capacity from being installed. [PV-Tech]

California solar array (NRG image)

• “California gets more power from solar than gas in May”
  Data from California’s grid operator shows that in May solar generation in the area managed by the California ISO rose to a new record, providing nearly 17% of in-state generation. With gas falling to only around 15%, this means that solar provided more electricity for Californians than gas, for the first time ever, on a monthly basis. [pv magazine Australia]

Wednesday,  June 6:

• “World’s first grid-scale liquid air energy storage plant goes live”
  The world’s first grid-scale liquid air energy storage plant has been officially launched near Manchester. The 5-MW/15-MWh plant is the first grid-scale demonstration of liquid air energy storage. LAES technology stores air as a liquid, and then converts it back to a gas by letting it boil, driving a turbine to generate electricity. [Power Engineering International]

New Microsoft data center

• “Microsoft sinks data centre off Orkney”
  Microsoft has sunk a data centre in the sea off Orkney to see whether it can boost energy efficiency. The data centre, a white cylinder containing computers, could sit on the sea floor for up to five years. An undersea cable brings the data centre power and takes its data to the shore and the wider internet. But repairs are not possible. [BBC]
• “The White House Apparently Forgot to Tell NOAA Not to Mention Climate Change”
  “Sea level rise” and “climate change” are not phrases Trump appointees typically use to describe anything but hoaxes. But on Monday, the acting head of NOAA, spoke to a crowd of more than 600 scientists, advocates, and policymakers about the agency’s commitment to studying climate change and its effect on the warming oceans. [Mother Jones]

 

 

2018-05-31 Energy Week – Episode 265

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, May 24:

• The state of Rhode Island has selected Deepwater Wind, the Providence company that built the nation’s first offshore wind farm, to develop a 400-MW proposal in federal waters far off the coast that would be more than 10 times the size of the Block Island demonstration project. Gov Gina Raimondo announced the surprise decision. [The Providence Journal]

Block Island wind farm

• Massachusetts made a big step forward in its push to rely more on renewable energy by agreeing to purchase 800 MW of offshore wind power from Vineyard Wind. The New Bedford-based company was one of three competing for the contract. The proposed farm is poised to become the largest offshore wind farm in the country. [WCAI]
• A Vermont food company, whose products are on store shelves throughout New England, is now making its coffee using an emerging power source that’s gentler on the environment. The coffee beans look the same, dark brown as always, but the energy that now fuels operations at the Vermont Coffee Company in Middlebury is green. [NECN]

Friday, May 25:

Wind turbines

• New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that will move the state’s electricity mix to 50% renewable by 2030 and codifies the largest state commitment to offshore wind power. State law now commits the state of New Jersey to develop 3,500 MW of offshore wind, enough to power over one million average homes. [Windpower Engineering]
• ESS Inc, US maker of the only flow battery with a chemistry based on iron and saltwater electrolytes, is making its first move into the Brazilian energy storage market. A 50-kW/400-kWh test unit will be deployed and integrated together with 100 kW of PV, allowing for several hours of energy storage of onsite generated electricity. [Energy Storage News]
• South Australia will push ahead with a plan to install Tesla battery systems in 50,000 homes. The new state government is committed to the pro-battery agenda of its predecessor. The deal to create what is being called the world’s largest virtual power plant appears to have survived political changes from Labor to Liberal dominance. [ABC Online]

Saturday, May 26:

Solar array (Soltec image)

• GTM Research projects 24¢/W solar panels and utility scale fixed-tilt systems costing 70¢/W by 2022. This would open up new possibilities for ultra-cheap power. The cost of electricity from such systems could fall to 1.5¢/kWh or lower. Trump’s solar panel tariffs may delay that goal, but they are set to phase out by 2022. [pv magazine International]
• Two utilities, Vistra Energy Corp and Dominion Energy Inc, which serve about 5.5 million electricity customers in more than a dozen US states, both say they are done building combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plants. Instead, they are building large solar plants, which offer them plentiful and inexpensive electricity. [Reuters]

Jenbacher J620 gas generator

• General Electric’s shares plunged 7% on May 23, their worst one-day decline since an 8.4% slide in April 2009. The economic health of GE and other the large power equipment makers may hinge on how utilities handle the expected wave of power plant retirements. Mitsubishi said it expects orders for steam and gas turbines to run dry by 2020. [Utility Dive]

Sunday, May 27:

Artwork by Enzo Pérès-Labourdette

• The Silence of the Bugs” • Fifty-six years after Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” warned of bird die-offs from pesticides, a new biocrisis may be emerging. A study published last fall, showing a 76% decline in the total seasonal biomass of flying insects netted at 63 locations in Germany over the last three decades, tells only part of the story. [The New York Times]
• Saudi Arabia and Russia are discussing raising OPEC and non-OPEC oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, sources said, weeks after US President Donald Trump complained about artificially high prices. Raising production would ease 17 months of strict supply curbs as oil hits its highest price since late 2014 at $80.50 a barrel. [Voice of America]
• The US is leading a drive to promote nuclear power worldwide, showcasing the Trump administration’s understanding of nuclear technology as a crucial source of zero-carbon electricity. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette launched an initiative that aims to “highlight the value of nuclear energy as a clean reliable energy source.” [The Western Journal]

Monday, May 28:

Wildflowers and solar panels (Photo: Paul Chinn | The Chronicle)

• Community choice aggregation has spread across California. It now serves 12% of the state’s electricity demand, and it is growing fast. Local governments have embraced it as a way exert more control over their electricity supply and set their own rates while increasing their use of renewable power. But some worry about possible difficulties. [San Francisco Chronicle]
• Senior EPA officials have been working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming. Recently released emails show they also recruited help to counter negative news coverage and tout Administrator Scott Pruitt’s agency stewardship. [New York Daily News]

Wind turbines at Aberdeen Bay (Vattenfall image)

• Vattenfall has completed turbine installation at the 93.2-MW Aberdeen Bay wind farm off Scotland. Swire Blue Ocean jack-up Pacific Orca tackled the work from the Danish port of Esbjerg. The wind farm features eleven turbines made by MHI Vestas. Nine of these have capacities of 8.4 MW each, and two are 8.8-MW models. [reNews]

Tuesday, May 29:

• China accounts for more than two-fifths of all renewable energy jobs, with the country’s share particularly high in solar heating and cooling (83%) and in the sola photovoltaic sector (66%), though less so in wind power, according to the Renewable Energy & Jobs report from International Renewable Energy Agency. [brand-e.biz]

Wave (Credit: CC0 Public Domain)

• Scientists at the School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University in Wales published the review of tidal range energy resource and optimization in the peer-reviewed journal Renewable Energy. They say a third of global electricity needs could be provided by the world’s tidal range. That is about 5,792 TWh from tidal range power plants. [Phys.org]
• HDF Energy launched one of the world’s largest solar-plus-storage power plants in French Guiana. The $90 million plant is expected to generate around 50 GWh per year. The facility will produce 10 MW until evening and of 3 MW during the night. Hydrogen will be used for long-term storage, with batteries short-term. [pv magazine International]

Wednesday, May 30:

Cape Cod (Photo: Steve Erdelen, Wikimedia Commons)

• Cape Light Compact announced a substantial decrease in electricity prices for its green aggregation power supply program for the next six-month term, beginning on customers’ June 2018 meter read dates and ending on December 2018 meter read dates. The Compact’s new pricing for residential customers will be 10.6¢/kWh. [Cape Cod Today]
• “Suddenly, Solar Energy Plus Storage is Giving Conventional Fuels a Run For Their Money” • The renewables energy dynamic is changing so fast in Colorado that one Sierra Club senior campaign representative can hardly keep up with it. “I feel like we’re having to rewrite the talking points on the drawing board every month in Colorado,” he says. [Ensia]

Aberdeen wind farm (Vattenfall image)

• The wind farm Donald Trump tried to block is now complete. Trump fought construction of the 11-turbine offshore wind farm at Aberdeen, but his legal challenges were overthrown in 2015. Now, the last of the turbines has been installed, completing the offshore project. The wind farm will provide approximately 70% of Aberdeen’s electricity. [Quartz]

2018-05-24 Energy Week – Episode 264

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, May 17:

Solar and wind (Wikimedia Commons)

• The Solar Energy Corporation of India announced plans to issue a tender for 2 GW of solar and wind energy capacity. SECI will auction 1 GW of solar and 1 GW of wind energy capacity at a location likely to be disclosed once the actual tender documents are released. Combining solar and windpower will optimize the transmission system. [CleanTechnica]
• Queensland’s state-owned transmission company Powerlink says it has received enquiries about 30 GW of new generation projects, almost all of them renewables. Powerlink said it signed a connection agreement for up to 500 MW with Pacific Hydro for the first stage of the Haughton solar farm. But it is just one of 150 potential projects. [RenewEconomy]
• With tariffs from the Trump administration and an energy market in flux, the solar economy faces a degree of uncertainty. But in Minnesota the sector is stronger than it is in most states. Last year solar jobs dropped 4% nationwide, while in Minnesota they rose 48.2% to a total of 4,256, according to the Solar Jobs Census. [Twin Cities Business Magazine]

Friday, May 18:

Warming planet

• For 400 consecutive months, which is over 33 years, the earth’s temperature has been above average, and climatologists are not mincing words as to why. The dubious milestone was reported in NOAA’s monthly global climate report. It also says this April had the third-warmest of any April since NOAA began collecting such records in 1880. [CNN]
• A report in The Atlantic said that NASA’s Trump-appointed new administrator, Jim Bridenstine, told a town hall meeting, “Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. We’re putting it into the atmosphere in volumes that we haven’t seen, and that greenhouse gas is warming the planet. That is absolutely happening, and we are responsible for it.” [Newsmax]
• The US solar sector employs more workers than the coal and nuclear industries combined. A report from a think tank headed by former US Energy Secretary Moniz shows that some solar jobs are typically uncounted, and 100,000 jobs have a part-time solar component. The report hints at the political powerhouse that solar is becoming. [pv magazine Australia]

Saturday, May 19:

Crescent Dunes solar thermal plant (Murray Foubister, Wikimedia Commons)

• Could renewable sources meet 100 percent of our energy demand? Yes, according to new research which scrutinises the arguments against. “There are no roadblocks on the way to a 100% renewable future,” the research states, while pointing out that existing research already holds the answers to the common objections raised. [New Atlas]
• The National Park Service released a report showing risks to national parks from sea level rise and storms. Report drafts obtained earlier by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting showed officials had deleted every mention of humans causing climate change. But after a long delay, the report was published with the references restored. [Reveal]
• A report from Microsoft Corp shows significant energy and carbon emissions reduction potential from use of the Microsoft Cloud, compared with on-premises datacenters. These gains can be as much as 93% for energy efficiency and 98% for carbon efficiency. They are partly due to Microsoft’s use of renewable energy. [Global Banking And Finance Review]

Lake Michigan lighthouse

• Consumers Energy and DTE Energy announced new goals in Michigan of 50% clean energy by 2030. The aim is to achieve this target through a combination of renewable investments (of at least 25%) and energy efficiency. They will be retiring coal-burning power plants, replacing them with of wind and solar generating facilities. [Windpower Engineering]

Sunday, May 20:

Monarch butterflies (Joel Sartore | NG | Getty Images)

• Global warming is on track to cause a major wipeout of insects, compounding already severe losses, according to a new analysis. Insects are vital to most ecosystems and a widespread collapse would cause extremely far-reaching disruption to life on Earth, and scientists warn that much more carbon needs to be cut than nations have promised. [theindependentbd.com]
• The alternative energy revolution, based on such renewable energy sources as wind, solar, and geothermal being fed into the overall electrical grid, is reviving an argument Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla had well over a century ago. The grid supplies AC power, but renewable energy sources such as solar and batteries are DC. [RTInsights]

Monday, May 21:

Solar Roadway project (Source: Designboom)

• Qualcomm Inc has been developing motor vehicle static charging technology with major carmakers for the past seven years. The company announced that its system is expected to be commercially available on EVs within two years, based on the fact that the cost of static wireless charging is now comparable with conductive charging. [Solar Magazine]
• After months of pressure from the Australian government either to keep the old coal-fired plant open longer than planned or to sell it to somebody who will, the AGL board has decided to proceed with its original plan to close it. AGL said that an offer it got was in its best interests of neither the company nor its shareholders. [The Singleton Argus]
• Sales of BMW electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are up more than 49% year over year in 2018. BMW’s EV sales are up nicely so far this year, 73% in the US and 25% in the UK. But EV sales have surged far more in China, where sales are up 646%, thanks largely to a new, locally produced plug-in hybrid electric version of the 5 Series sedan. [CleanTechnica]

Tuesday, May 22:

Acadia National Park (Nate Parker Maine Photography | Getty Images)

• “Officials tried to censor a report on national parks. Here’s what was in it.” • The Trump administration attempted to release a report from the National Park service about dangers to National Parks from rising sea levels with all references to climate change removed. It identified human-caused climate change as the main culprit behind the rising sea levels. [Grist]
• A University of Colorado research scientist said she was “extremely happy” the National Park Service released a study on sea level rise even though it “probably destroyed” her career doing agency research. Maria Caffrey refused to accept NPS corrections that are said to have removed words linking global warming to human activity. [The Western Journal]
• Power producers are rushing to build natural gas plants and pipelines to replace retiring coal, but in less than 10 years much of that infrastructure will be more expensive to operate than the cost to build new renewables, analysis released by the Rocky Mountain Institute says. That would leave investors saddled with billions in stranded assets. [Forbes]

Wednesday, May 23:

Wind farm

• The American Wind Energy Association says that the number of contracts signed for wind power projects hit a record of 3,500 MW in the first quarter of 2018, a possible predictor of a strong year for wind power. Among the news items it cited was an announcement by PacifiCorp of a plan for a $2 billion wind farm in Wyoming. [Energy Manager Today]
• The Netherlands has announced that it will ban the use of coal for electricity generation from 2030 onwards, and that the two oldest plants must close by the end of 2024. Germany utility company RWE has deemed the plan “ill judged.” But according to Carbon Tracker, over half of all European coal-burning power plants are losing money. [CleanTechnica]
• The Oregon Public Utility Commission has declined to acknowledge a short list of four Wyoming wind power projects from a request for proposals by PacifiCorp, saying the process was not sufficiently competitive. PacifiCorp said it will move ahead with the $3.5 billion wind and transmission expansion anyway. [Portland Business Journal]

2018-05-17 Energy Week – Episode 263

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, May 10:

Renewable energy in New England (Chris Devers via Flickr)

• “State Clean Energy Laws Make New England Grid More Resilient” • The New England power grid is more resilient and reliable thanks to state laws that promote renewable energy and efficiency and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. That is our evidence-based message to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. [Natural Resources Defense Council]
• The US Energy Information Administration projects that 21 GW of gas-fired generators will be brought online in 2018, out of a total 32 GW of new capacity expected to be added this year. If that is correct, 2018 will be the first year since 2013 in which renewables failed to account for a majority of new generating capacity. [Daily Energy Insider]
• The California Energy Commission has voted unanimously to adopt new energy efficiency standards, which would make solar panels a requirement for new home construction. While the vote was a big step forward, the proposed new standards will still have to go to the California Building Standards Commission for final consideration later this year. [CNN]

Friday, May 11:

Costa Rica

• Carlos Alvarado, the new president of Costa Rica, announced the country’s “titanic and beautiful task of abolishing the use of fossil fuels in our economy to make way for the use of clean and renewable energies.” He made the remarks at his inauguration speech in front of a crowd of thousands, according to a report in the Independent. [EcoWatch]
• Opinion: “We Will Prevent Catastrophic Climate Change!!” • Of late, I feel increasingly confident that environmentalists will be able to make that claim soon. A few experts, like Tony Seba and Ramez Naam, are starting to make the claim. I had been wary of the idea, but increasingly I think they are right because of the exponential growth of renewable energy. [CleanTechnica]
• President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly axed the monitoring system NASA runs to keep track of greenhouse gas levels, the US journal Science revealed. The Carbon Monitoring System, a project costing $10 million (£7 million) per year, which remotely tracks the world’s flow of carbon dioxide, is to lose funding. [BBC]

Saturday, May 12:

Boring Company Los Angeles Pod Concept

• Elon Musk made some bold claims in tweets about the Boring Company. He said the tunnel under Los Angeles is nearly done and will soon be in use. He said work on a tunnel linking New York City and Washington, DC, has already begun. And he said a Hyperloop connection between Los Angeles and San Francisco would begin next year. [CleanTechnica]
• Representatives of the German and Ugandan renewable energy sector successfully tested their jointly developed solutions for electricity and biogas supply in Uganda. Micro biogas plants have been in operation in Uganda for many years, but they typically cost around €1,000 ($1,200), and this is too high for much of the rural population. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
• Iceland is pursuing further adoption of renewable energy, with incentives to promote electric vehicles and the installation of over 20 new ABB fast charging stations. A realization that Iceland was too dependent on fossil fuel imports led to corrective efforts. Today, 80% of the energy for the country comes from renewable sources. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Sunday, May 13:

Tesla battery system in South Australia

• Tesla’s giant Powerpack battery in South Australia has been in operation for about 6 months now and we are just starting to discover the magnitude of its impact on the local energy market. A report now shows that it reduced the cost of the grid service that it performs by 90% and it has already taken a majority share of the market. [Electrek]
• According to Catherine Von Burg, CEO of battery maker Simpliphi Power, 2017 was a blockbuster year for the company, with sales more than tripling from 2016. The spike in sales has Simpliphi Power bursting out of its Ojai, California headquarters and scrambling around the surrounding area looking for more manufacturing space. [CleanTechnica]
• The Yale Program on Climate Change Communications carried out a study that reveals a jump in the number of Republicans who agree that climate change is caused by carbon emissions from human activities. The results showed a 9-point uptick in GOP voters who said they believed climate change was fueled by emissions. [Earth.com]

Monday, May 14:

Batoka Gorge

• China Power and General Electric have launched a joint bid for a contract to construct the 2,400-MW Batoka Gorge hydropower project being co-developed by Zimbabwe and Zambia. Energy and Power Development Minister Simon Khaya Moyo said they paid him a visit at his offices and expressed strong interest in the undertaking. [Chronicle]
• Power generation in West Virginia is changing, though some do not want to embrace the shifting priorities and others say it is a mistake to bet the bank on one horse. China Energy is interested in investing up to $84 billion in shale gas and petrochemical projects in the state. That would create some jobs, but it would cost others. [WV News]

Geothermal power plant (That’s steam, not smoke)

• According to the recently published Energy Atlas of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, European countries are distributing €110 billion in subsidies and free CO2 certificates to producers of fossil fuel energy. This means coal and gas power plants receive three times as much in subsidies as the renewable energy sources do. [Devdiscourse]

Tuesday, May 15:

Aircraft emissions

• Researchers at the University of Sydney have spent 18 months looking at emissions from the entire tourism value chain, from the airplanes to the hotel, food preparations, and even souvenirs. The total is equivalent to 4.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year. This is about 8% of all emissions and possibly four times earlier estimates. [CleanTechnica]
• Cypress Creek Renewables, the nation’s fifth-largest solar developer and last year’s top utility-scale installer, says it will take a $1.5 billion hit due to the Trump administration’s solar tariffs. Greentech Media confirmed that the company stopped investing in 1.5 GW of projects, roughly 20% of its pipeline, because of the tariffs. [Greentech Media]

Zero emissions steel (Credit: Onni Wiljami Kinnunen | SSAB)

• A consortium in Sweden is working on an experimental program that could slash carbon emissions from manufacturing steel. The CEO of Hybrit, a joint venture between Swedish steel maker SSAB, power utility Vattenfall, and LKAB, Europe’s largest iron ore producer, said, “Our pilot plant will only emit water vapor.” [CleanTechnica]

Wednesday, May 16:

Hornsdale Power Reserve

• “Elon Musk Harpooned Baseload Power” • In its first four months of operations the “big battery,” the Hornsdale Power Reserve, frequency control ancillary services prices went down by 90% in South Australia. The 100-MW battery has received over 55% of the FCAS revenues. This cuts into opportunities for fossil fuels deeply. [CleanTechnica]
• Pacificorp, a Berkshire Hathaway electric utility in six Western states, projects new resources of 2.7 GW of wind, 1.86 GW of solar, 1.877 MW of incremental energy efficiency, and 268 MW of demand response. Pacificorp also expects to repower 999 MW of wind. But it foresees no new fossil fuel resources in the decades to come. [pv magazine USA]

Noor Complex solar power plant in Morocco

• Morocco is close to completing the largest concentrated solar power farm in the world. The site near the city of Ouarzazate aims to produce enough energy to power more than a million homes by the end of the year and reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 760,000 tons per year. The first phase was officially turned on in 2016. [CNN]

2018-05-10 Energy Week

Visitors Please Note: This blog is maintained to assist in developing a TV show, Energy Week with George Harvey and Tom Finnell. The post is put up in incomplete form, and is updated with news until it is completed, usually on Wednesday. The source is geoharvey.wordpress.com.

Within a few days of the last update, the show may be seen, along with older shows, at this link on the BCTV website: Energy Week Series.

Thursday, May 3:  

Wind turbines and hay bales (Photo: MattJP, CC BY-SA)

• “Are public objections to wind farms overblown?” • Renewable energy researchers wanted to see how much local opposition there is to existing wind farms across the US. With funding from the DOE , they teamed up to undertake the largest scientific study to date on how people who live near US wind farms perceive them. [Phys.Org]
• Ticks are making us sicker. Illnesses spread by ticks more than doubled between 2004 and 2016, a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Mosquito-borne illnesses are also on the rise. The lead author, declining to address the “politically fraught issue of climate change,” blames warmer weather. [Grist]
• Federal subsidies for renewable energy dropped to $6.7 billion in FY 2016, a 56% decline from FY 2013. Renewable subsidies in FY 2010 and FY 2013 were about $15 billion. The decline came with decreasing support from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Renewable energy accounted for 46% of the FY 2016 total. [Biomass Magazine]

Friday, May 4:

Sunset from above the clouds, Mauna Loa Observatory (LCDR Eric Johnson, NOAA, Wikimedia Commons)

• Carbon dioxide, the No 1 greenhouse gas leading to man-made global warming, has reached a dubious new milestone. The level of the gas in the atmosphere, as measured by instruments on top of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory, topped 410 parts per million for the month of April. Scientists say this is the highest level in 800,000 years. [CNN]
• Wind, solar, and other renewable sources accounted for almost 95% of all new US electrical generation placed into service in the first quarter of 2018, data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission shows. 3,149 MW of solar and wind power came online, compared to 79 MW of natural gas and 4 MW from a nuclear power uprate. [Solar Power World]

Beaver Creek Wind Farm (Image: Mortenson Construction)

• Iowa energy provider MidAmerican Energy has announced plans this week to build two new wind farms with a combined capacity of 550 MW in Adair County. They will be a part of the company’s previously-announced 2 GW Wind XI project. The Wind XI project is the largest economic development venture in Iowa’s history. [CleanTechnica]

Saturday, May 5:

• Vermont regulators are reducing the financial incentives for electric customers who install renewable energy systems and get a credit on their electric bills for the power they provide power to the grid. The Vermont Public Utility Commission said the reduction was needed to balance the program’s impact on electric rates. [Valley News]

Child in typhoon floodwaters (File photo by IFRC)

• Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said we need to invest trillions protecting ourselves from the impacts of climate change. She said, “Trying to address climate change at current financing levels is like walking into a Category 5 Hurricane protected only by an umbrella.” [Rappler]
• Just six weeks ago, VW boss Matthias Müller stunned the automotive world when he revealed the company had placed orders for EV batteries and components worth a total of $25 billion. Now, VW has a new head man, Herbert Diess, who told investors at the annual meeting that VW has signed orders for almost double that. [CleanTechnica]

MidAmerican Energy wind farm

• The demand for wind energy surged through the first quarter of 2018, pushing the country’s wind development pipeline to over 33 GW, the American Wind Energy Association said. The AWEA has tracked new announcements of over 5,500 MW. This represents a 40% year-over-year increase over the same quarter last year. [CleanTechnica]

Sunday, May 6:

• Extreme weather appears to be disrupting the life cycle of Europe’s bats. Scientists were alarmed to find that some bats in Portugal skipped winter hibernation altogether this year while others gave birth early. The findings add to growing fears that rising temperatures are having unpredictable effects on bats, birds and other wildlife. [BBC]

Bear in the 21st century

• “As Winter Warms, Bears Can’t Sleep. Plus They Truly Are Getting Into Trouble.” • As climate change leads to warmer winters, American black bears are changing their hibernation routines. In some cases, bears are not hibernating at all, staying awake all winter. But with droughts, they might not find enough food in the wild. [Independent Recorder]

Monday, May 7:

Renewable energy (Credit: ingehogenbijl | Shutterstock.com)

• “Leapfrogging Tech Is Changing Millions of Lives. Here’s How.” • In developing countries, particularly in Africa, millions of people are skipping the technological evolution process, leapfrogging over now-obsolete technologies and going straight to modern fixes. These often happen to be green, sustainable, and relatively inexpensive. [Singularity Hub]
• In what seems to be an about-face from his stance two years ago, New York Gov Andrew Cuomo introduced a bill calling for a ban on single-use plastic carrier bags by 2019. The governor, who will stand for re-election in November 2018, said the proposed statewide ban is part of an effort to fight the “blight of plastic bags.” [Plasteurope]

Texas lake bed (Photo: Tony Gutierrez | AP)

• A working paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond concludes that global warming could significantly slow economic growth in the US. Hardest hit will be Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Arizona, states that voted for Donald Trump in 2016. [The Guardian]

Tuesday, May 8:

• After months of acrimonious wrangling over a new energy policy already delayed by more than a year, the Connecticut Senate overwhelming passed a plan that will fundamentally reimagine how the state values the solar energy people generate on their roofs. Environmental and solar groups opposed the bill to no avail. [The CT Mirror]
• Environmental groups are pushing back against a bill that outlaws building solar facilities and other renewable-energy projects on forestland. It was introduced to address cutting trees to build large solar-energy projects. The bill prohibits the building of renewable-energy systems in, or connected to, a wooded area of 250 acres or larger. [ecoRI news]

Entergy supporters in orange shirts (Michael Stein | The Lens)

• Professional actors were paid to support Entergy’s proposal of a gas plant at New Orleans City Council meetings, according to some participants. “They paid us to sit through the meeting and clap every time someone said something against wind and solar power,” said one actor, who heard about the opportunity through a friend. [The Lens]

Wednesday, May 9:

Installing PVs in China (Credit: Kevin Frayer | Getty Images)

• “China reaps benefits of U.S. solar innovation while American workers are left behind” • IRENA reported over 500,000 new jobs in renewables in 2017 bringing the total to well over 10 million. Two thirds of solar jobs are in China. But in the US, where the technology was developed, solar jobs are on the decline. [ThinkProgress]
• “Trump withdraws from Iran deal: What’s next?” • President Trump announced that the US intends not to participate in Iran nuclear deal and will re-impose sanctions. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded that Iran may be willing to remain a part of the deal, subject to negotiations with the remaining international partners. [CBS News]

Seajacks Zaratan (Courtesy of Seajacks)

• Seajacks won a contract in Taiwan, its first order outside of Europe. The 10,000-tonne jack-up vessel Zaratan will install 20 6-MW wind turbines in the Taiwan Strait in water around 30 meters deep, up to six kilometres off the north-west coast of Taiwan. The work is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2019. [Renewable Energy Magazine]