Plus: Wooden wind turbine; Total sets 2050 net zero target
Hi Everyone,
To all moms, a sincere Happy Mother’s Day!
Economic stimulus packages are de rigueur for governments trying to reboot their economies from the global pandemic. But calls for them to simultaneously also address another global challenge – climate change – are also growing louder, and rightly so. Now that governments have been tending to the immediate support needed by people who’ve been put out of work, attention is turning to other ways to get people working. Ideas for how to do this best has virtual line-ups at the doors of government that likely match those now at Costco after payday. Here is a selection articles I came across along these lines:
- How sustainable infrastructure ca aid the post-COVID recovery | World Economic Forum
- World’s leading economists call for green COVID-19 stimulus packages | Electrek
- Climate change: Could the coronavirus crisis spur a green recovery? | BBC
- Australia: Smart stimulus can create millions of jobs and accelerate our transition to zero-emissions | RenewEconomy
- Green stimulus in Canada’s building sector | Pembina Institute
- Let’s build a more resilient Canada | Clean Energy Canada
For Canadians, but especially Albertans, I highly encourage you to watch/listen to the webinar recording of energy experts David Kieth, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham where they cover “Alberta in the Energy Crisis”, with some excellent ideas about where to for Alberta and Canada. For Episode II, scheduled for Tuesday May 12 at 11am MT/1PM ET, they are going to use the controversy over the film “Planet of the Humans” as a launch pad for discussing hard questions about the transition to carbon-free power in Alberta and world-wide. You can register here.
Have a scan of the other main stories, along the with many other headlines of interest.
As always, continue to forward on to colleagues, friends and family that you think might be interested and encourage them to subscribe.
Thanks and watch for the next update in two weeks. Stay healthy!
Peter
How long does it take for wind turbines and solar panels to be carbon neutral?
Comment: This question has come up in recent conversations. GHG emissions associated with all the energy and material needed to create a solar panel or a wind turbine are important to note, but most studies I’ve seen show solar panels reach carbon neutrality in 2 years or less. For wind turbines, it is generally less. The challenge in pinning this down to a quotable number is it depends on the carbon intensity of the grid power that is being displaced. If all your power comes from coal, the period for wind and solar to be carbon neutral is shorter than if the grid is powered with a different mix.
Another method of comparing looks at “lifecycle emissions” – the emissions from all phases of the project (construction, operation, and decommissioning). Coal fired electricity results in about 10 times more emissions than solar and about 34 times more than wind. Natural gas fired electricity results in about 6 times more emissions than solar and about 19 times more emissions than wind.
If you’ve seen good visuals that help communicate these differences, let me know!
The bottom line: Electricity generated from wind and solar produce less emissions and therefore are better for the planet.
Oil Giant Total Targets Carbon Neutrality in 2050 | Financial Post
Comment: Total is the latest European major oil and gas company to declare a net zero ambition. Total joins Shell, BP, Repsol and Eni – all of whom have set targets – all within the last 18 months, towards varying degrees of net zero emissions in 2050. The pattern to note is they are all European and integrated – meaning they produce oil and gas AND sell refined products directly to customers at gas stations. Has anyone seen a good public comparison of these targets? Please share so I can include in a future issue of Energy Shift.
- TOTAL news release (May 5, 2020)
- Big Oil’s “net zero” club grows with new pledge from Total | Axios
Axios Excerpts:
- Total said it’s aiming to reach net-zero “together with society.” It’s vowing to engage in “active” policy advocacy and work with other businesses to decarbonize their energy use.
- Total also said it wants a “60% or more reduction in the average carbon intensity of energy products used worldwide by Total customers by 2050.”
Total: Three major steps to get Total to Net Zero:
- Net Zero across Total’s worldwide operations by 2050 or sooner (scope 1+2)
- Net Zero across all its production and energy products used by its customers in Europe2 by 2050 or sooner (scope 1+2+3)
- 60% or more reduction in the average carbon intensity of energy products used worldwide by Total customers by 2050 (less than 27.5 gCO2/MJ) – with intermediate steps of 15% by 2030 and 35% by 2040 (scope 1 + 2 + 3)
Power-to-gas could be key to California’s long-duration storage needs, stakeholders say | Utility Dive
Comment: I frankly wasn’t sure I was reading the headline right. Usually we see this the other way around: gas-to-power (meaning using natural gas to generate electricity). So what is California looking at? Using excess electricity from renewables to create methane and hydrogen. Yes, you read that right. Have a look for yourself. Using renewables to make hydrogen is not new, but this is the first time I’ve heard about making methane. OK, I want to hear what you think of this.
BloombergNEF: ‘Already cheaper to install new-build battery storage than peaking plants’ | Energy Storage News
Comment: I thought I’d post this, even though this was hitting the news already in 2019.
Global LCOE benchmarks for solar PV, wind and batteries. BloombergNEF notes that “the global benchmark is a country weighted-average using the latest annual capacity additions. The storage LCOE is reflective of utility-scale projects with four-hour duration, it includes charging costs”. Image: BloombergNEF.
SCE procures 770 MW of battery storage to bolster California’s grid as gas plants approach retirement | Utility Dive
Comment: Greentech Media put it best:
When it comes to buying big batteries, California cannot be stopped.
Utility Southern California Edison dropped some late-breaking news Friday afternoon: It’s contracting for 770 megawatts of new storage across seven projects and four counties, slated to be online by August 2021. If you’re wondering just how big that is, try all the battery capacity installed in the U.S. last year, plus 200 megawatts.
Sweden erects the first wooden wind turbine tower | Electrek
Comment: BNNBloomberg’s piece is frankly more informative. A question: is the laminated wood better for recylcing/disposal than metal towers? I admit I don’t know – so if you do, help me out.
Inside a wood wind turbine tower from Swedish company Modvion. Photographer: Paul Wennerholm / Modvion AB
Opportunity knocks: Federal government launches Alberta-specific wind and solar procurement process | OSLER
Comment: For anyone doubting Alberta’s potential for wind and solar, this offers a great proof point. Alberta has among the best wind and solar potential in Canada. Combine that with a deregulated electricity market created conditions for very competitively priced renewable power available for purchase through long term contracts, exactly what the Federal government aims to do.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- Ontario college to ‘minimise’ peak electricity costs with large-scale battery system | Energy Storage News
- Redflow says Gen 3 zinc bromine flow battery will be 30% cheaper to make | One Step Off The Grid
- New report: Global energy storage outlook H1 2020 (Brochure) | Wood Mackenzie
Hydrogen
- Australia Plots Path to Hydrogen Exports With A$300 Million Fund | Bloomberg
Solar (& Battery)
- Alberta Utilities Commission approves solar-plus-storage project as ‘in the public interest’ | Energy Storage News
- Australia’s largest solar farm set for construction after Neoen wins deal with CleanCo | RenewEconomy
- Technology leaps driving cost of solar PV electricity in Australia to just A$30/MWh | RenewEconomy
Wind (& Battery)
- BloombergNEF: ‘Already cheaper to install new-build battery storage than peaking plants’ | Energy Storage News
Transport
- Highway travel speeds rise, clearing the way for freight movement | Smart Cities Dive
- Audi Q4 e-tron electric SUV to start at just US$45,000 | Electrek
- Paris Has a Plan to Keep Cars Out After Lockdown | CityLab
Transition
- Global GHG emissions could fall 8% in 2020 amid pandemic: IEA | Utility Dive
- The Deceiving Thing About The Big, Historic Drop In CO2 Emissions | Mashable
- Shell and BP Slash Spending but Renewables Largely Spared | Greentech Media
- France’s Total looks to expand in Australia selling power | Reuters
- Tesla takes first steps to become an electric utility, starting with the UK | Teslarati
- Octopus Energy becomes a unicorn thanks to investment from Origin | Current News
- Zeigo adds 4GW of renewable capacity to energy marketplace platform | Current News
- Dominion jacks up renewables and storage in Virginia IRP, following landmark clean energy rule | Utility Dive
Finance
- Oxford University to divest from fossil fuels and align to net-zero strategies| edie
- Barclays and HSBC blasted (by 350.org) over £158bn fossil fuel financing | edie
Buildings/Energy Efficiency
- Chicago requires new residential, commercial construction include EV charging capabilities | Utility Dive
- Green stimulus in Canada’s building sector | Pembina Institute
Carbon Capture
- McKinsey: Renewables are ‘pivotal piece of the 1.5-degree puzzle’ but CCS needed | Current News