Plus: Starbucks aims for ‘resource positive’; 50% more emissions from Uber and Lyft; Blockchain use case for energy
Hi everyone,
Sorry for making this update so full – it represents 2 weeks of commute reading.
If you only have time for one piece, watch the BNEF video on Hydrogen (manageable on a phone; better on a larger screen).
Next, learn why central bankers are thinking about the risk of a ‘green swan’ event and what that means.
Lastly, though hard to hear, RBC CEO David McKay makes the case for continued investment in oil & gas as a necessary part of the transition to lower carbon energy. Answering the call for how to transition: the freshly launched, federally funded Canadian Institute for Climate Choices aims to help chart the pathways and policy options for Canada with its inaugural report.
Do skim the rest. Some interesting developments that represent both what customers want and what companies are being pushed towards: Starbucks aiming to be ‘resource positive’; Steer offering people the opportunity to ‘try EVs before you buy’, and the use case for blockchain in energy.
As always, keep telling others about this great resource and encourage them to subscribe.
Thanks and have a great week!
Peter
BNEF Talk: Hydrogen – Scaling Up for Zero Carbon
Comment: Martin takes us through the four dimensions important for scaling up green hydrogen. It is no surprise that Australia has its eye on Asia as a market for exporting green hydrogen produced using ever cheaper renewables. Though there are other Asian markets, they’ll have to watch out for a potentially speedy scale up of domestic production in China.
‘Green Swan’ Climate Event Could Trigger Global Financial Crisis, BIS Warns | Bloomberg
Excerpt: The analysis by officials at the Basel-based institution — often described as the central bank for central banks — adapts the “black swan” concept devised by Nassim Nicholas Taleb to describe adverse events outside the scope of regular expectations with wide-ranging or extreme impacts.
Green swans are different from black swans because there is some certainty that climate change risks will one day materialize, which could endanger humanity more than financial crises, and they threaten even more complex and unpredictable chain reactions, the authors wrote.
RBC CEO says fossil fuels are necessary in shift to green economy | Financial Post
Excerpt: “What we’re missing is an articulation of a plan to replace your fossil fuels,” McKay said. In the meantime, “we have to invest. Otherwise you’re going to see US$150 oil prices plus and that’s more destabilizing to our global economy and slower on growth than you would expect.”
Report: Uber, Lyft trips produce more emissions than regular car trips | Curbed
Excerpt: Authors of the report analyzed data from millions of trips made with ride-hailing apps in 2018, concluding that ride-hailing vehicles across the state produced emissions at a rate of 301 grams of CO2 per passenger mile traveled—nearly 50 percent higher than other automobiles.
That’s mainly because Uber and Lyft drivers spend more than one-third of their total driving time by themselves. Passengers are in the car only about 61 percent of the time, according to the report. Miles drivers travel without a fare amount to additional emissions, since they add on to the journeys actually taken by passengers.
South Australia encourages rooftop solar and battery storage in new homes | One Step Off The Grid
Comment: Note that Shell’s sonnen is among the companies delivering Virtual Power Plant services in the state, leveraging software and connectivity to harness thousands of home solar and energy storage systems.
Excerpt: The state government has now made available the $100 million home battery scheme to new homes, and will allow 12 months – rather than the standard 6 months – for the battery to be installed to take into account the longer lead times of home construction.
The offering will be made available through a range of different retailers and providers who can aggregate the solar and batteries as part of their various “virtual power plants” that offer revenue from providing energy and grid services to the main grid when needed.
Starbucks commits to give more than it takes from the planet, and ditch disposable cups | GreenBiz
Excerpt: Starbucks just committed to becoming resource positive. In other words, to store more carbon than it emits, to eliminate waste and to provide more freshwater than it extracts. That’s a big friggin’ deal, especially for a company that reports adding a new location every six hours, on top of its 32,000 sites across 82 countries.
Exclusive: BP’s Looney goes all-in on climate goals and explores overhaul | Reuters
A few Excerpts: Change is afoot at BP. Incoming Chief Executive Bernard Looney plans to expand the company’s climate targets and is considering overhauling the structure of the oil and gas major in one of the biggest shake-ups in its 111-year history.
The aim is to catch up with, and possibly outdo, rivals such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Repsol (REP.MC) as investor pressure over climate change mounts, said the sources who declined to be named as the plans have not yet been made public.
Europe’s top oil firms have all set carbon reduction goals of various breadth. Scope 3 targets could align BP with its most climate-progressive rivals: Repsol, which aims become a net zero-carbon company by 2050; Shell which has set out an “ambition” to halve Scope 3 emissions by 2050; and Total (TOTF.PA).
China installed 30GW of new solar in 2019, 12GW in December alone | RenewEconomy
Excerpt: Reports out of China show that the country managed to install 30GW of solar PV in 2019 – an unsurprising decrease on previous years – but buoyed by an impressive 12GW of capacity installed in the month of December.
Worth noting is China’s overall power capacity additions in 2019, which increased by a total of 5.8. Of the new capacity additions, 4.17GW of new hydropower was added for an increase of 1.1%, 25.79GW of new wind power was added for an increase of 14%, 40.92GW of new coal power was added for an increase of 4.1%, and 4.06GW of new nuclear power capacity was added for an increase of 9.1%. Working from the same barometer, solar power increased by 17.4%.
Outgoing BP CEO Warns of Moving Too Fast on Climate Change | Canada.com
Excerpt: BP, Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Chevron Corp and Total SA are “only responsible for producing about 8% of the world’s oil. If we were all driven out of business that oil would still be produced” by national oil companies and other countries.
Steer Car Subscription Service Trying to Reduce Barriers to Electric Vehicles, Says CEO | Cheddar
Excerpt: The company is offering a “concierge-style” service that delivers virtually any EV and plug-in hybrid available in the U.S. straight to customers’ driveways. Launched by the electric-utility giant Exelon ($EXC), the startup hopes to put more EVs on the road by helping the battery-curious overcome common anxieties about charging, range, and power, while free of the commitment of a years-long lease – let alone a purchase.
Energy Blockchain’s Most Obvious Use Case Is Not What You Think | Greentech Media
Comment: Worth a read. Assured provenance of energy. Imagine the possibilities for both renewable and non-renewable energy.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- BlackRock Targets Energy Storage With New Multi-Billion-Dollar Renewable Energy Fund | Greentech Media
- AGL signs up for “giant” battery in Queensland, paving way for 1000MW solar plant | RenewEconomy
Solar (& Battery)
- Total to build 800MW solar plant for Qatar World Cup at “world lowest” price | RenewEconomy
- Capstone buys stake in proposed Alberta solar power generation project | CBC
Wind (& Battery)
- Vestas Takes Most Radical Step Yet Toward Zero Turbine Waste | BNN Bloomberg
Transport
- Total wins Europe’s largest concession contract for EV charging points in the Netherlands | Current News
- Hyundai and Kia put over $110M into UK electric delivery vehicles startup Arrival | TechCrunch
- UPS orders 10,000 electric delivery vans from startup Arrival | Electrek
- Exclusive: Volkswagen to buy 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan amid electric push – sources | Reuters
- Electric vehicle maker Rivian: expect prices lower than previously announced | Reuters
- GM Cruise unveils self-driving electric car for ride sharing | Electrek
- General Motors to invest $2.2B in Detroit to build EVs | VOA
- Federal [Canada] electric-car rebate uses nearly half its 3-year budget in 8 months | CBC
- Germany Looks for Flight Shame Cure in Jet Fuel Made From Water | BNN Bloomberg
Transition
- Centrica and sonnen complete ‘UK’s most advanced’ virtual power plant | Current News
- Oil CEOs at Davos Debate Tougher CO2 Cuts as Pressure Mounts | Yahoo Finance
- Victoria slashes grid outage risk with record demand response uptake | RenewEconomy
- IEA warns oil companies doing nothing on emissions is not an option | Reuters
- Australia to add 3.6GW of new solar and wind to grid in 2020 | RenewEconomy
- India installed 7.5GW of solar and 2.4GW of wind in 2019 | RenewEconomy
- Spain installed 6.4GW of new wind and solar capacity in 2019 | RenewEconomy
- New [Canada] federal climate think tank looking for a road map to zero emissions | JWN Energy
- Arizona Public Service sets 100% clean energy target, but doesn’t rule out carbon capture for gas plants | Utility Dive
- Total sells 50% stake in French solar and wind portfolio for ~€300M | Seeking Alpha
- Texas Is the Center of the Global Corporate Renewable Energy Market | Greentech Media
- Corporate Clean Energy Buying Leapt 44% in 2019, Sets New Record | BloombergNEF
Buildings
- Goodbye, gas furnaces? Why electrification is the future of home heating | CBC News
- New York is kicking California’s butt in building electrification | GreenBiz
Finance
- Green bond issuance soared to $185bn in 2019, report reveals | edie
- Can the VC Behind Smart-Home Startups Be Sustainable Darlings? | Financial Post
- Investor coalition pledges to plant 100 million trees | edie
Carbon Capture
- Turning carbon into concrete is their formula to fight climate change | Los Angeles Times
Hydrogen
- The 8 the differences between gasoline and hydrogen engines | Motor Authority
What Cruise’s self-driving vehicle reveals about GM’s EV ambitions | Electrek
Comment: After getting all excited about autonomous vehicles a few years ago, I’ve scaled back my expectations on when we’re likely to see these on the road. Some say 2 to 4 years. In conditions without snow perhaps. The technology continues to advance, so maybe I’m the one underestimating it. Worth a look, at least.
