Plus: A 14MW wind turbine; solar getting insanely cheap; Google stops providing AI service to oil and gas
Hi Everyone,
My number one recommended read? Check out the McKinsey article on the purpose gap (see below).
Here are a couple other stories to call out worth reading if you’re interested and have some time:
- In another sign of the times, Google
says it won’t build AI tools for oil and gas drillers. - Ever hear of heat pumps? Con Edison is including subsidies in a $1.5B energy efficiency
commitment - Thinking about reducing your demand for energy? If you live in Canada or the US, you should.
As always, skim the rest of the headlines…there is bound to be something there of interest. Plenty of big numbers being announced.
Continue to forward on to colleagues, friends and family and encourage them to subscribe.
Have a great couple weeks and watch for the next update on June 7th.
Thanks,
Peter
Corporate purpose: Shifting from why to how | McKinsey
Comment: I came across this through another weekend blogger you too may be interested in: Kyle Westaway. Here he nicely summarizes this great read:
“Seventy-two percent of employees say that purpose should have more weight than profit, and only 42 percent say that their company’s purpose has impact. There is a purpose gap. The only way to bridge a purpose gap is to embed your reflection, exploration, discussion, and action in the heart of your business and your organization. (1) Get real. Create a baseline from a stakeholder perspective. (2) Connect purpose with your company’s superpower. (3) Keep purpose at the top of mind. (4) Measure what you can. Learn from what you measure.”
Excerpt: What is your company’s core reason for being, and where can you have a unique, positive impact on society? Now more than ever, you need good answers to these questions.
Only 7% of Fortune 500 CEOs believe their companies should “mainly focus on making profits and not be distracted by social goals.”1 And with good reason. While shareholder capitalism has catalyzed enormous progress, it also has struggled to address deeply vexing issues such as climate change and income inequality—or, looking forward, the employment implications of artificial intelligence. more….
Solar’s future is insanely cheap | Ramez Naam
Comment: One this is clear from this piece that is jam-packed with great graphs: the IEA’s World Energy Outlook consistently underestimates the growth of solar, though it always perplexes me as to why. Just look at the history of cost declines!
Huge 2GW of wind, solar and storage to deliver green future for Queensland industrial hub | RenewEconomy
Excerpt: Plans to build more than 2GW of wind generation capacity in and around the Queensland coal power hub of Gladstone have been unveiled, with Sydney-based Energy Estate joining forces with global outfit RES on the major project.
The two companies said on Monday that they were collaborating on the so-called Central Queensland Power Project (CQP), which plans to deliver over 2GW of wind, solar and storage, as well as new transmission infrastructure.
Comment: Headlines with big numbers like this can be grabbed by projects using a 10 year horizon, a period over which plans can change. That said, I thought it was interesting how they are foreseeing the need to link projects like this to re skilling of a workforce towards a new economy built on renewables.
Lightsource BP Explores Green Hydrogen Site Powered by 1.5GW of Australian Renewables | Greentech Media
Bundling wind and solar could deliver capacity factors in excess of 70 percent, according Lightsource BP.
Comment: For now, they are just working on the feasibility study. A pilot phase would produce 20 kilotons annually (ktpa) converting green hydrogen into ‘green ammonia’ , with the full-scale commercial operation producing 1,000 ktpa of green ammonia. Ammonia is cheaper to store than hydrogen, and given its widespread use in fertilizers, it already has a large supply chain in place. So pretty early days. Let’s hold the excitement until at least a pilot gets built and better yet, that it is successful enough to move to a commercial scale. Scaling up of electrolyzer manufacturing for improved availability and cost is also a problem that will need to be tackled.
Trump Administration Approves $1B Gemini Solar Project in Nevada Desert | Greentech Media
The 179-megawatt Switch solar project is northeast of Las Vegas. The proposed Gemini solar project would be a few miles away, across I-15…and nearly four times the size.
(Michael Quine / Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Quick facts:
- 690 MW of solar
- 380 MW of battery storage
- 7,100 acres of land (about half of Manhattan; 5.3 km by 5.3 km; for farmers: 11 sections )
- Expected to generate enough electricity to power 260,000 homes
- Expected to create a peak of 900 construction jobs
But:
- Located in the Nevada desert, the Gemini site overlaps with habitat of endangered or threatened species including the desert tortoise, kit fox and burrowing owl. During construction of the project, the government plans to move some desert tortoises before returning them back to the area once construction is complete, in what amounts to a “big experiment,” as one employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told Bloomberg.
The remarkable growth of wind and solar projects paired with big batteries | RenewEconomy
Comment: Granted this is a US example, though similar build-outs are occurring elsewhere. Plus, I like a graph that tells you the story.
Siemens Gamesa Launches 14MW Offshore Wind Turbine, World’s Largest | Greentech Media
Excerpt: Siemens Gamesa on Tuesday launched the largest wind turbine ever publicly announced, a 14-megawatt model with a 222-meter rotor diameter meant for offshore wind farms.
Wave, Wind And PV: The World’s First Floating Ocean Hybrid Platform | Utilities
Excerpt: Starting this summer, SINN Power will offer solar panel manufacturers the opportunity to demonstrate and test their PV modules on a floating platform in Iraklio, Greece.
Other headlines of interest…
Energy Storage
- Exclusive: Tesla’s secret batteries aim to rework the math for electric cars and the grid | Reuters
- New zinc-air battery is ‘cheaper, safer and far longer-lasting than lithium-ion’ | Recharge
- Nearly 3GWh of energy storage awarded alongside solar contracts in Hawaii tender | Energy Storage News
- California utility PG&E seeks approval for 423MW of four-hour duration battery storage | Energy Storage News
Hydrogen
- BP looks to add 1.5GW wind and solar for huge renewable hydrogen project in W.A. | RenewEconomy
- Massive 1000MW “baseload” wind, solar and hydrogen plant pitched for New South Wales | RenewEconomy
- Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation puts AU$300m into commercialising green hydrogen | Energy Storage News
Solar (& Battery)
- El Paso Electric sees record low solar prices as it secures New Mexico project approvals | Utility Dive
Wind (& Battery)
- Siemens Gamesa releases details of huge offshore wind turbine | CNBC
- Australia wind output breaks through 5,000MW for first time | RenewEconomy
- Iberdrola Buys 900MW Wind Portfolio as Coronavirus Investment Drive Ramps Up | Greentech Media
Transport
- Past its peak? Battered oil demand faces threat from electric vehicles | Reuters
- Volvo CEO: Pandemic will rapidly accelerate shift to electric cars | Electrek
- Tesla cars could give back to the grid with bidirectional charging feature – Roadshow | CNET
Transition
- Ridiculously Low PPA Prices Foreshadow The Future Of The Power Sector | Seeking Alpha
- Business leaders call for recovery packages to be tied to net-zero corporate targets | edie
- Trump admin slaps solar, wind operators with retroactive rent bills | Reuters
- Blockchain-based renewables project in Los Angeles wins $9M state grant | Smart Cities Dive
Buildings
- Con Edison commits $1.5 billion to energy efficiency | Utility Dive
- [UK]Government taskforce sets out tools to unlock £65bn investment into green housing | edie
- Deep retrofits key to climate change progress, but mid-size buildings lag behind | The Globe and Mail
Finance
- Equinor’s shareholders reject climate proposals from activists | Reuters
- World’s biggest wealth fund blacklists 4 Canadian firms for greenhouse emissions | Reuters
Miami pilots e-cargo bikes to reduce congestion, pollution | Smart Cities Dive
Retrieved from DHL on May 18, 2020