Plus: Apple to be fully carbon-neutral by 2030; banks disclose lending emissions; NY to buy clean power for 1.5M homes
Hi Everyone,
Happy Heritage Day weekend for all my fellow Albertans!
If you only have time to read a little, start with my comments. I encourage you to at least scan the rest of the headlines – there is a lot of activity reported in the headlines.Think I missed one? By all means send it my way…and as always, your comments and feedback are always welcome.
Don’t assume others you know are also getting this great digest of energy transition signposts. Forward on to colleagues, friends and family and encourage them to subscribe using the links provided.
Have a great couple weeks! Watch for the next issue on August 16th.
Peter
Observations, Comments & Questions
- Do try to at least skim the headlines below. A lot happened in the last couple weeks.You’ll see some battery technology stories, albeit ones that sound exciting though need to make their way out of the lab – a challenging feat. That said, with so much work going on problem-solving better energy storage, I have to think one of these will finally make it through. While on the topic of new tech, carbon capture is also seeing some progress: New Technique To Capture Carbon Dioxide Could Greatly Reduce Power Plant Greenhouse Gases. Excerpt: The technique showed a six times greater capacity for removing CO2 from flue gas than current amine-based technology, and it was highly selective, capturing more than 90% of the CO2 emitted.
- Several banks on both sides of the Atlantic committed to disclosing how their lending activities contribute to climate change. Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and NatWest Group all announced they’ve signed up with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. PCAF is developing a common methodology to assess greenhouse gas emissions from loans and investments made by firms in the financial sector. In yet another example of the climate transparency agenda taking root in the finance sector, this one appears to be growing quickly. In a related move, Deutsche Bank added itself to the list no longer lending to oil sands or coal. So far, I haven’t heard these moves having any material impact. However, as momentum on transparency grows, I expect these teeth will begin to have some bite.
- I’ve noticed that cities have been trying to move the needle on climate mitigation faster than higher levels of government and this is a trend to watch. In some cases, this is working. In others, their efforts are being frustrated. In the case of the town of Brookline’s bylaw to disallow the use of natural gas in buildings, Massachusetts state law prevailed. As more cities push the envelope, I expect higher orders of government to catch the drift of voter sentiment and make policy changes.
- [From RenewEconomy]: US energy giant AES has anchored the latest fund-raising round for Australia solar start-up 5B, which has developed rapidly deployable solar technology that could be used to build the world’s biggest solar farm in the Northern Territory. The Sydney-based 5B has developed the revolutionary Maverick design system that enables solar to be deployed three times faster than conventional solar arrays and deliver twice the output from the same geographic footprint. That is an impressive advancment. Find out more here: 5B Solar Reinvented. The short promo video gives a better idea of how the system works.
Technology
Technology breakthrough could increase EV range, battery life | Energy Now
Researchers say they’ve developed a potential breakthrough technology that could increase the life of electric vehicle batteries by up to five times and increase the driving range of cars by 30% to 50%. The technology from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University involves a soft electrolyte for use in EV batteries that prevents the formation of defects in them, said Brett Helms, a staff scientist of organic and macromolecular synthesis at Berkeley Lab and director of the study, which was published this month in Nature Materials.
New zinc-air battery is ‘cheaper, safer and far longer-lasting than lithium-ion’ | Recharge
Canadian start-up Zinc8’s hybrid flow battery can make wind or solar farms baseload and could transform the utility-scale energy-storage market. A new type of battery is coming onto the market that can store multiple days’ worth of energy, that doesn’t degrade, can’t possibly explode and is up to five times cheaper than lithium-ion, claimed its developer as it prepares to pilot the technology in New York state.
New battery breakthrough paves way for 100% silicon batteries with higher energy density | RenewEconomy
LeydenJar Technologies, a Dutch spin-out of TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for applied scientific research, has developed a new anode which it believes will “drastically change the battery industry,” allowing lithium-ion batteries to be made from 100% silicon, boosting energy density by 70%..
OVO signs first international partnership expanding into the French market | Current News
[Excerpt] Kaluza is already used for OVO Energy’s retail systems in the UK, as well as providing solutions for optimising home energy systems. The platform can be used to manage smart home devices like batteries and rooftop solar, and at scale provide flexibility for stored and renewable energy to support energy grids.
Enel Reveals Plan to Add 1GW of Batteries to US Renewables Fleet by 2022 | Greentech Media
The global renewables powerhouse will kick off its renewables-plus-storage hybrid strategy at a solar project in Texas. Enel announced a dramatic scale-up of its U.S. energy storage ambitions on Tuesday, saying it will add 1 gigawatt of storage capacity to its renewables fleet by 2022.
World’s ‘largest behind-the-meter solar project’, with 240MWh battery storage, begins construction | Energy Storage News
Technology infrastructure company Switch and asset management firm Capital Dynamics have announced the groundbreaking of three developments in Nevada, one of which is claimed to be the largest behind-the-meter solar project in the world.
Super hybrids: Shell combines offshore wind, with floating solar, batteries, and hydrogen | RenewEconomy
British-Dutch oil major Shell has teamed up with Dutch utility Eneco and won the tender to build the subsidy-free 759MW Hollandse Kust (noord) offshore wind projects that will turn into a “super hybrid” – combining the 69 11MW wind turbines with a floating solar park, short-term battery storage, and a green hydrogen electrolyser for additional storage.
Tesla chooses Texas for new Cybertruck factory | Reuters
Tesla will build its $1.1 billion Cybertruck factory near Austin, Texas, ending an intense competition with neighboring Oklahoma, the electric carmaker’s chief executive, Elon Musk, announced late on Wednesday. Tesla’s new Cybertruck and its heavy-duty Semi truck, as well as the Model 3 and Model Y cars for eastern North America, will be built at the 2000 acre plant.
NextEra Energy to Build Its First Green Hydrogen Plant in Florida | Greentech Media
NextEra Energy is closing its last coal-fired power unit and investing in its first green hydrogen facility. Through its Florida Power & Light utility, NextEra will propose a $65 million pilot in the Sunshine State that will use a 20-megawatt electrolyzer to produce 100 percent green hydrogen from solar power, the company revealed on Friday.
Iberdrola to build biggest European solar and battery hydrogen plant | RenewEconomy
Spanish utility Iberdrola has partnered with European fertiliser giant Fertiberia to build a 100MW solar PV plant with 20MWh battery storage to power one of the largest electrolytic hydrogen production systems in the world.
Gigafactory startup Northvolt raises US$1.6 billion in debt financing for ‘greenest batteries’ | Energy Storage News
Northvolt has now raised over US$3 billion to support its plans to become a major player in the European battery manufacturing space, including US$1.6 billion in debt financing which it announced today.
Policy
UK unveils £350m CCS, hydrogen fund to decarbonise industry | Current News
Of the £350 million, £139 million is being designated for supporting a transition from natural gas to clean hydrogen power, along with scaling up carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. .
Gas grid operators unveil plan for ‘backbone’ of Europe’s hydrogen infrastructure | edie
A group of eleven European gas infrastructure companies from nine EU member states have presented plans to create a dedicated hydrogen pipeline network of almost 23,000 km by 2040, to be used in parallel to the natural gas grid.
Florida to invest $8.6M in fast charging stations | WUSF News
While Gov. Ron DeSantis says he can’t afford a Tesla, he’s all in on adding electric-vehicle charging stations to the state’s highways. On Friday, DeSantis announced the state will spend $8.6 million from a legal settlement with Volkswagen to add 34 fast-charging stations along Interstate 95, Interstate 4, Interstate 75, Interstate 275 and Interstate 295.
London unveils £1.5bn green infrastructure package to kick-start economy post-lockdown | edie
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the London Recovery Board have jointly launched a £1.5bn infrastructure investment package, designed to reduce the city’s emissions and water footprint while kick-starting the local economy as lockdown eases.
New York Wants to Buy Enough Clean Power for 1.5 Million Homes | BNN Bloomberg
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking bids for up to 4,000 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power 1.5 million homes. The state plans to buy 2,500 megawatts of power from offshore wind farms proposed in the Atlantic Ocean and 1,500 megawatts from clean-power projects on land, according to a statement Tuesday. New York will also invest more than $400 million in port upgrades to support the emerging offshore-wind industry.
Boris Johnson unveils £2bn boost for walking and cycling infrastructure | edie
The package will fund a string of initiatives, including improvements to cycling lanes and walking routes, bike rack roll-outs, cycling proficiency training and a national e-bike scheme.
Consumers
Shell wants UK to accelerate ban on fossil fuel car sales to 2030 | The Driven
Oil major Shell says that it wants the UK government to make a bold move to ban petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, accelerating an existing plan by five years even though it seems to undermine one of Big Oil’s key business planks.
GM reveals details about its electric future | Star Tribune
In releasing its 2019 Sustainability Report, General Motors provided new details of its upcoming flood of electric vehicles.
Morgan Stanley commits to tallying its climate impact | Politico
The financial giant will become the first major U.S. bank to count emissions from its loans and investments.
RBC signs solar-power agreement in a first for a Canadian bank | JWN Energy
Royal Bank of Canada will buy solar power from BluEarth Renewables Inc. under a renewable-energy contract that’s a first of its kind for a Canadian financial firm. Canada’s largest bank and partner Bullfrog Power, a unit of Spark Power Group Inc., will each purchase 31,500 megawatt-hours a year – enough electricity for almost 2,600 homes – in an agreement that will support construction of two solar farms in southeast Alberta.
Apple promises to become fully carbon-neutral by 2030 | The Guardian
Apple has pledged to become a carbon-neutral operation by 2030, a commitment that covers its entire supply chain and the lifecycle of all its products, including the electricity consumed in their use.
Deutsche Bank says it won’t back any new oilsands or coal projects | CBC
Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank is joining a lengthening list of European lenders and insurance companies that say they won’t back new oilsands projects.
Total writes off $9.3B in oilsands assets, cancels Canadian oil lobby membership | CBC
Total said it is leaving CAPP because of a “misalignment” between the organization’s public positions and those expressed in Total’s climate ambition statement announced in May