Plus: Recycled plastic meets only 6% of demand; Bifacial solar panels; US gas generates more than coal
Hi Everyone,
I learned a bit about chemical recycling this week: there is WAY more demand for recycled plastic than available from existing sources – only 6% of demand is being met – pushing companies to look at new technologies to get their feedstock. There is a great source for better understanding the circular economy – the ‘GreenBiz Circular Weekly‘ email put together by Lauren Phipps (sign up here). Unfortunately, not every week’s issue is published online (like Friday’s great piece).
Enjoy the rest of the posts – it was a quieter week for sure. Forward this on to other you think would be interested.
Thanks,
Peter
EIA: Gas-fired combined cycle now generates more U.S. power than coal | Power Engineering
Excerpt: As more NGCC plants continue to come online and coal plants continue to retire, NGCC-powered electricity generation should consistently rank as the most prevalent source of electricity generation in the United States for the foreseeable future, based on projections in EIA’s most recent Annual Energy Outlook.
Global energy demand sees biggest increase this decade, with gas the fuel of choice: IEA | Utility Dive
Excerpt:
- Worldwide energy demand surged 2.3% last year, a pace the International Energy Agency said was the fastest in this decade, driven by a strong global economy and the rise in heating and cooling load.
- Natural gas accounted for 45% of the rise in consumption, the group concluded in its Global Energy and CO2 status report, released last month. Fossil fuels met almost 70% of the new demand, which led to a 1.7% increase in global carbon emissions.
- Renewables, including hydropower, increased by 4% last year and now account for almost 25% of global power output — second after coal. While coal’s overall place in the energy mix continues to decline, demand for coal has now risen slightly for two years.
IRENA: 140 Gigawatts of Solar and Wind Capacity Installed Globally in 2018; Outpacing fossil fuels
Excerpt: Non-renewable generation capacity has expanded by an average of 115 gigawatts per year since 2000, IRENA said.
Wind and solar’s faster growth means that renewables are eating up a larger and larger share of the global market for new power plants, going from 25 percent of new capacity brought online in 2001 to 63 percent last year, a new record.
All told, the world added 171 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity last year, 84 percent of it wind and solar. …more from Greentech Media
Tesla makes deal with Fiat Chrysler to pool fleet for EU emission requirement | Electrek
Comment: This exactly how a market-based requirement ought to work: specify the standard, but not prescribe how to get there. In this case the European Commission set a fleet wide requirement to not exceed 95g/km (coming into effect in 2020). So a company like Tesla that generates credits is able to sell them to another that needs them. Fiat Chrysler likely struck a deal with Tesla for less than the fine they’d have to pay, estimated to have been $2.2 billion in each of 2020 and 2021.
Amazon Announces 3 New Wind Projects In Europe & US | CleanTechnica
Comment: The context for this is important. Amazon committed to a goal of powering its operations with 100% renewables. They got as far as about 50% in 2016 and there have been no announcements since then. The deals with 3 wind farms total 229 MW, in Ireland, Sweden and California. However, since 2016 its estimated Amazon has added over 600 MW in demand for its data centres in Virginia alone. Amazon will have to step up its renewables deals to at least match the pace of the growth of its operations to be credible with its goal.
Return on energy invested in solar panels is more than thought, but home batteries don’t usually help, Stanford researchers find
Excerpt: The energy produced over the lifetime of typical rooftop solar panels more than makes up for the energy it takes to make, mount and then eventually recycle them. But adding a home battery usually lowers those dividends, according to new research from Stanford University.
It found that the energy payout ratio ranges from a low of 14 in Alaska to a high of 27 in sunny Arizona – but only when homeowners are able to send surplus power to the grid. …more from Standford News
Two are better than one: Bifacial PV modules will open new markets for utility-scale solar | Utility Dive
Comment: This is an opinion piece, so I’d be interested in hearing from those in the know about the use cases and the proportion of PV installs that bifacials represent. I’m curious about their potential for use in northern latitudes where they might benefit from reflection off snow. Does anyone have good intel on costs vs payback?
Not sure what a Bifacial solar panel is? Check this out.
‘Climate before cash’: young Norwegians call time on oil industry | Reuters
Excerpt: Another sign of the hardening opposition towards fossil fuels, particularly young people, and its impact on the energy industry is a lack of qualified recruits to replace a rapidly ageing oil and gas workforce.
A few other stories from this week…
- Norway aviation firm orders 60 electric planes tipped to be “Tesla” of flight | The Driven
- Centrica to deploy 7GW of low carbon technologies by 2030 | Current News
- Australian Energy Market Operator opens virtual power plant integration trial | Energy Storage New
- Total, partners reach initial agreement on $13 billion Papua LNG project | Reuters
- London opens world’s first 24-hour “ultra low emissions zone” | RenewEconomy
- Green New Deal Progress with NY Offshore Wind and Energy Proposals | National Law Review
- Geely launches new global all-electric brand Geometry, unveils a $31,000 ‘high-end sedan’ – Electrek
- Cities collect scooter data using MDS, developed in Los Angeles. They want Uber and Lyft data next | Slate
Silence’s 100 km/h electric scooters with removable wheeled batteries are expanding across Europe | Electrek
Check out the removable battery!
Source: Electrek