Plus: Tesla unveils electric Cybertruck & Ford’s Mustang Mach-E; Breakthrough claimed for industrial heat
Hi Everyone,
I’ll be skipping a week, so watch for the next Energy Shift issue on December 8.
If you only have time to read one article, read this Globe & Mail Op-Ed by Michael Crothers, President of Shell Canada: Uncomfortable climate change realities from an energy executive. I think he nails it with the “uncomfortable reality is that successfully addressing climate change requires collective action across the energy system – from low carbon investments made by companies, to lifestyle choices made by consumers, and policies to decarbonize economies by governments.” If you’ve already read it, move on to the first story posted below on China’s continued growth in coal-fired power plants. Yes, growth.
That said, at least skim the rest of the headlines – there’s likely to be another story or two of interest. As usual, forward on to others and encourage them to subscribe.
One last thing to highlight, a new magazine from Rocky Mountain Institute, for which I expect soon will have a paywall for the subscription. Enjoy while you can. I include a story on decarbonizing steel and cement.
With that, have a great couple weeks!
Peter
China’s appetite for coal power returns despite climate pledge | The Guardian
Comment: The basis of this article is a report by the Global Energy Monitor: OUT OF STEP – CHINA IS DRIVING THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE GLOBAL COAL FLEET. It is worth giving it a quick scan. As someone who loves a story told by a good graph, I think the one below tells the story rather well, even if the story is that all global reductions in coal fired-power are way more than cancelled out by the growth in additions in China. This very clearly reminds us all how important China (and India) is to managing atmospheric CO2 levels.
Excerpt: China’s growing appetite for new coal-fired power stations has outstripped plant closures in the rest of the world since the start of last year, data shows.
Elsewhere countries reduced their capacity by 8GW in the 18 months to June because old plants were retired faster than new ones were built. But over the same period China increased its capacity by 42.9GW despite a global move towards cleaner energy sources and a pledge to limit the use of coal.
Source: Global Energy Monitor
Shell to support Europe’s first sustainable aviation fuel plant | GreenBiz
Excerpt: The combined benefits of the feedstocks, hydrogen and use of low carbon energy to power production will reduce the fuel’s lifecycle carbon emissions by about 85 percent compared with conventional jet fuels, according to estimates from certification body the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.
In return for its support, Shell Aviation will secure the option to buy fuel produced at the facility, the company said.
Tesla unveils Cybertruck: electric pickup with range up to 500 miles, starting price of $39,900, & more | Electrek
Comment: The headline is a bit misleading. The base model has 250 miles of range, whereas the 500 mile range comes with a price tag of USD$69,900. Leave it to Elon to come up with a design this polarizing: people love it or hate it. There is also this: Funniest putdown memes from CyberTruck haters so far, also from Electrek.
E3 Metals to scale up testing with large lithium-enriched brine sample | JWN Energy
Comment: I realize this does not fit my usual criteria of being a ‘material marker’ story, but one that profiles the potential resource and economic opportunity for my home province of Alberta, not to mention diversifying Canada’s economy. The E3 Metals team is working hard to bring this technology to commercialization and this is just another step along the way.
Excerpt: The company has delineated an inferred resource estimate of 6.7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent from brine in the Leduc Formation, which now ranks Alberta as having one of the largest lithium resources in the world.
Company backed by Bill Gates claims solar breakthrough, looks to replace fossil fuels in industrial plants | GeekWire
Comment: Looks pretty cool. For all of us in northern latitudes, what about snow in winter?
Decarbonizing Steel and Cement | The Energy Transition Magazine
Comment: A longer read but sets out the challenges and potentially promising improvements. Not mentioned at all is adding carbon fibres into cement, making it stronger and therefore requiring less cement to achieve a building objective. See CarbonCure and others aiming to commercialize this technology.
This comes from a new magazine from Rocky Mountain Institute, for which I expect soon will have a paywall for the subscription. Enjoy while you can.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- Redflow says will compete with lithium, lead batteries on cost | One Step Off The Grid
Wind (& Battery)
- India’s ReNew Power Hits 5 Gigawatts Of Renewable Energy Capacity | CleanTechnica
Transport
- Doubts cast on easyJet plan to be net-zero emissions airline | AP News
- Lyft deploys 200 long-range EVs for its rideshare rental fleet in Colorado | TechCrunch
- Dominion Energy Proposes Largest Electric School Bus [1,050] Initiative in the Country [US] | PRN Newswire
Transition
- Microgrids Take Off Among Airport Operators | Greentech Media
- Shell targets grid and EV charging technologies in accelerator programme | Current News
Ford Mustang Mach-E: The first all-electric Ford is here | Yahoo Finance
Excerpt: The Mach-E will come in a few flavors when it arrives in showrooms in late 2020. There will be available standard and extended-range battery options with either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
