Plus: Google spends $2B on renewables; 300MW behind-the-meters storage
Hi Everyone,
Some impressive headlines this week. Google spending $2B on renewables, Amazon spending $4B on electric delivery vans. But I gotta say I love the story of Canadian NRStor partnering with Honeywell to deliver a 300MW behind-the-meter battery energy storage solution for commercial and industrial customers.
Enjoy the rest of the headlines. Continue to send me comments, please! If you think I missed an imortant story, send me the link to share with others. Which brings me to my last request: forward this on to someone you know and encourage them to subscribe.
Thanks,
Peter
Honeywell and NRStor C&I Launch Largest Behind-the-Meter Battery Energy Storage Program in the World | PR Newswire
Comment: I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again. Software that provides the smart systems customers want and the related services is where companies are improving their profit margins on renewables and energy storage. Get close to the customer.
Excerpt: The energy storage systems will be supported by two state-of-the-art remote operations centers (ROCs) that use proprietary artificial intelligence-based peak prediction and value stack optimization algorithms. These centers will automatically start the battery systems to maximize savings for commercial and industrial customers. Honeywell’s advanced control technologies will enable precise battery dispatch along with network security and cybersecurity protection.
..and while we’re on this theme…
The man behind Tesla’s Powerwall is now pitching an all-in-one power management system for homes | Tech Crunch
Comment: Yet another example of delivering the flexibility, responsiveness and energy-use visibility customers are looking for.
Google signs up to $2bn wind and solar investment | The Guardian
Excerpt: The search engine’s green energy portfolio will grow by 40%, giving the company access to an extra 1.6 gigawatt of clean electricity – the equivalent capacity of a million solar rooftops, the company said.
Comment: And for a reminder of where the big corporates stack up on renewables, here is a recent graph courtesy of Wood Mackenzie. Looks like this lastest move will put Google back on top.
The hard truths of climate change — by the numbers | Nature.com
A set of troubling charts shows how little progress nations have made toward limiting greenhouse-gas emissions.
Comment: While you can view this on your phone, the animations work better viewing on a desktop and frankly are more convincing.
Amazon’s Multibillion-Dollar Bet On Electric Delivery Vans Is Game-Changer For Startup Rivian | Forbes
Excerpt: Billionaire Jeff Bezos, the retail giant’s founder and CEO, told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that the company will buy 100,000 electric trucks from Plymouth, Michigan-based Rivian as part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge to move to 100% renewable energy use by 2030. The first 10,000 vans could be on the road by 2022, with the remainder to be added by 2030.
Credit: Amazon
Europe’s biggest cement maker pushes for green concrete | Bloomberg via E&E News
Comment: Anytime I see a big move that addresses emissions associated with the built environment, it is a good thing. Greening the power grid and electrification of transport grab headlines, leaving buildings and infrastructure often left untended. Granted this is an incremental move on cement emissions, but noteworthy nonetheless.
Excerpt: LafargeHolcim Ltd. is spending 160 million Swiss francs ($161 million) on 80 projects across Europe to cut annual emissions from its cement manufacturing processes by 15% by 2022, according to Marcel Cobuz, the company’s head of Europe.
Policymakers and investors around the world are turning their attention toward the greenhouse gases coming out of the building and construction industry, studying tighter curbs on emissions to meet increasingly tough climate targets. Cement makers are responsible for about 7% of world carbon emissions, more than all the trucks on the road.
Bill Gates says it’s time to redirect solar and wind subsidies. Is he right? | MIT Technology Review
Comment: Wind and especially solar can compete in most markets on an unsubsidized basis. So I think generally, Bill is on the right track though a jurisdiction-specific view is the way to go when assessing what subsidies are needed.
Excerpt: The falling costs and rising share of solar and wind power are one of the few success stories to date in the battle against climate change, the Microsoft cofounder and clean energy investor said during an interview with Bloomberg.
But Gates said costs aren’t likely to drop much further and other areas are in far greater need of support, including: grid energy storage, offshore wind parks and tools that could cut greenhouse gas emissions in sectors other than electricity, such as agriculture, cement and steel.
China′s e-car makers go from strength to strength | DW
Comment: Now see? I’d love to have my vehicle know me and automatically adjust my seat for me. There is a 1 foot difference in height between my wife and I and we frequently have to make seat adjustments.
Excerpt: If the company’s vision comes to fruition, when a driver gets into a Byton car, the vehicle automatically adjusts the preferences such as seat adjustment, telephone contacts or music playlists to suit the driver’s requirements.
The data required for this is to come from the company’s own cloud. The interaction between the driver and the car takes place via cameras, sensors and a giant display more than one meter wide in the vehicle’s cockpit.
Want a Real Energy Transition? Start a War | ARC Energy Research Institute
Comment: For those too young to remember the changes triggered by the 1970s oil shocks, this is a great history lesson worth a quick read. Thanks Peter Tertzakian.
Excerpt: These days the ‘get off oil’ narrative is bellowing out of the climate change megaphone. But environmental concern is not as piercing an issue to the public as a sudden assault on one’s wallet and the fear of having to line up for fuel.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- Liquid Air Could Store Renewable Energy And Reduce Emissions | IEEE Spectrum
Wind (& Battery)
- Dominion Energy proposes $7.8 billion offshore wind project | Fox Business
- U.K. set to open $25B contest for offshore wind farms | E&E News
Nuclear
- Duke Energy moves to keep reactors online past 2050 | E&E News
Cities
- Tree cover is not enough: Keeping cities cool calls for a commons-based climate response | PHYS.org
- Cities key to tackling climate crisis | DW
Transport
- KLM to replace Brussels flight with train to cut emissions | MSN
- Waymo’s robotaxi pilot surpassed 6,200 riders in its first month in California | TechCrunch
- Daimler stops developing internal combustion engines to focus on electric cars | Electrek
- Global Transit Body Ramps Up Fight Against Car Use In Cities | Forbes
Transition
- Every U.S. Grid Is Getting a Lot Greener, Except the One That Matters | Crain’s Chigago Business
- Former TransCan VP pens new book “Breakdown: The Pipeline Debate and Threat to Canada’s Future” | Calgary Herald
Finance
- Global divestment movement hits $11 trillion, pushes for more – and faster | RenewEconomy
- $11B green finance initiative takes shape in South Africa | Business Times
- Rich families pour wealth into $30T ESG opportunity | E&E News
Opinion
- The conversation Calgary needs to have: How does an oil city adjust to a new reality? | CBC News
Volvo Trucks Unveils Electric Truck, Readies Commercialization | Trucks.com
Excerpt: The electric VNR has dual electric motors mated to a two-speed gearbox. Volvo located the motors in the center of the truck rather than at each wheel because of high forces axles must withstand. Some truck manufacturers place motors at each wheel in their designs. But Volvo believes its design will be more durable, said Chad Burchett, chief project manager for the VNR Electric.
Volvo located the electronics and controls in a modular power box under the hood – the former home of the diesel engine in a conventional vehicle. That allows for easy access and service.
Battery packs on the side of the VNR Electric. (Photo: Jerry Hirsch/Trucks.com)