I can’t think of how many times, often when you least expect it, that I have found myself in a debate with someone about whether we shall always need fossil fuels. Michael Liebrich now supplies five easy answers to end any bar room argument, see below. COMPANY NEWS Polestar raises almost $1 bln, sees margins … Read More
Author: James La Terriere
Heat networks/floating wind/deep sea geothermal/microwave storage & focus on repowering wind farms
Headlines this week that it is raining in Antarctica should re-affirm that what we talk about in this newsletter is relevant, if that was ever needed. UK NEWS Floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea could be worth up to £1.4 billionThe Crown Estate has released new research indicating that the floating offshore wind opportunity … Read More
Wave & tidal power/SMR reactors/calcium looping/green ammonia & focus on e-fuels
COMPANY NEWS Brookfield raises $10B for latest energy transition fundBrookfield Asset Management announced this week it had secured $10 billion for its latest energy transition fund in its first close. The firm said it will continue to raise money for the fund until Q3 of this year.The clean energy investor — which has over $850 … Read More
Batteries/solar/wind/heat pumps/DRS/SMR & focus on EV charging
Focus is on EV charging this week. Whilst compiling it I got to wondering about whether the public charging network and charger availability is keeping up with EV ownership. I am guessing that quite a percentage of readers own an EV. My sense is that there is more competition for charger time than there was … Read More
BECCS/nuclear/low-emission steel/tar sands & focus on geothermal energy
Least surprising news of the week: Hinkley Point C nuclear project is behind schedule and over budget. Whilst UK tax payers won’t be on the hook for the cost over run, the delays do put a dent in the idea that nuclear is going to be a viable route to hitting climate targets. BlackRock commits … Read More
Constraint/flexibility/geothermal/vertical-agrivoltaic/wave power & focus on sodium-ion batteries
We truly live in the exponential age: I only heard of sodium-ion battery technology about this time last year and now the first car is being launched running on sodium and gigafactories are being built. I checked the Northvolt website relating to the first story below and it trumpets the arrival of sodium-ion technology too, … Read More
Heat pumps/nuclear/interconnectors/electrolyzer/magma chambers
Welcome to Titbits 2024. To use a corny football commentators expression “this one could go either way”. The energy transition is now into territory where a draw doesn’t cut it any more. One thing that can be guaranteed, however, is that most weeks Titbits will continue to provide carefully curated news in bite-size chunks UK … Read More
Batteries/long term storage/regenerative agriculture/hybrid AD & focus on African Carbon Credits
The first week of COP28 did achieve some progress, despite the oppressive presence of fossil fuel lobbyists. Weak oil and gas prices would seem to suggest that they are not having it all their own way. COMPANY NEWS Zenobē reveals £270 million investment from MubadalaBattery energy storage and EV fleet solutions provider Zenobē has received … Read More
Grid connection/algae/flexibility/ammonia & focus on COP28 and global carbon offsets
From the green perspective the Chancellor’s autumn Statement was more notable for what he didn’t say rather than what he did. There was help for Corporate investment and a promise to cut grid delays (see below). However, there was nothing to help energy efficiency in homes, no address towards the looming Carbon Border Mechanism being … Read More
Offshore wind/carbon capture/CfD’s/biodiesel/flow batteries & focus on heat pumps in the UK
One aspect of doing this that I particularly like is when different stories create links with each other. An example this week is the announcement of the increase in auction prices for the next round of CfD auctions, which links with Octopus Energy’s announcement of a new offshore wind fund. Maybe Octopus’ timing is good … Read More