The campaigns aimed at discrediting anything to do with the energy transition seem to have stepped up a gear, which is disappointing. Our small contribution to the fightback starts with the lengthy list of corrections to the misinformation surrounding heat pumps. I realise that some people have had underwhelming experiences with them, but that does not mean that they are a bad technology, and are improving all the time.
COMPANY NEWS
Shell seems to like playing good cop/bad cop.
Last week we reported that it weakened its carbon reduction targets in an update to its energy transition strategy.
This week the London-based major said that it plans to divest 1,000 retail sites in a shift to EV Charging. It said it would focus on public chargers — increasing those to 200,000 by the end of the decade compared to 54,000 currently — because customers need them more than home charging. The company will roll out these in China — where it operates more than half its current recharging stations — and Europe where demand is fast growing.
As the EV charging business grows, Shell expects an internal rate of return of 12% or higher. (bloomberg)
UK NEWS
Demand flexibility ‘chronically undervalued’
The Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) has voiced criticism following the publication of National Grid ESO’s report proposing a £58 billion investment into the electricity grid.
While acknowledging the necessity of ambitious investment plans for Britain’s energy future, ADE emphasises the importance of a coordinated approach, particularly in valuing demand flexibility.
Oz Russell, Industrial Energy Policy Officer at the ADE said: “Consistent underinvestment in UK transmission infrastructure, electricity demand doubling by 2050 and the vast length of the queue to connect to the grid, all make clear the necessity to build new infrastructure.
“At the same time, demand flexibility is still being chronically undervalued. Energy flexibility will enable less disruption, lower costs and fewer pylons across the UK, helping to manage network constraints and make the most of the intermittent renewables on the system, both now and in the future.” (energylivenews)
Largest ammonia cracking project opens in UK
Ammogen consortium partners recently gathered at Tyseley Energy Park (TEP) to mark the launch of what is claimed to be the world’s largest ammonia to hydrogen conversion project, which will deliver 200kg per day of transport-grade hydrogen.
The project will use ammonia as a vector for transporting hydrogen globally, developing a novel Ammonia cracker and purification technology to convert ammonia to hydrogen.
The project also aims to position ammonia cracking within the UK political thinking through demonstration and crystallise follow-on opportunities to unlock trade corridors between the UK and the emerging global hydrogen market.
Although ammonia production, handling practices and supply chains are mature and well-established, efficient, and cost-effective ammonia cracking technologies able to generate pure hydrogen are still at a low technology readiness level despite worldwide efforts to accelerate developments.
With The Tyseley Ammonia to Hydrogen Project, Ammogen aims to fill this gap and overcome the technological challenges to reach a market ready solution at the end of the project duration. (gasworld)
photo: Amogen
UK’s first carbon capture plant at energy-from-waste facility announced
enfinium, a leading UK energy from waste operator, has signed an agreement with global green technology company Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) to install the UK’s first carbon capture pilot plant at an energy-from-waste facility.
The technology supplied by HZI will be a scaled-down, containerised version of the CCS technology that could be applied to energy-from-waste facilities on a commercial scale.
The unit will capture up to one tonne of CO2 per day from enfinium’s operations at its Ferrybridge-1 site, in West Yorkshire. The trial will run for at least 12 months and will be operational from July this year. (bioenergynews)
Budweiser bags planning permission for British green hydrogen project
The business first announced detailed plans for the project this time last year. Its intention is to meet all of the site’s demand for thermal energy and hydrogen fuel cell transport refuelling with hydrogen from a facility just off the A59 between Preston and Blackburn.
Hydrogen produced at the site will be fed directly into the Brewery’s boilers. It will also be used to refuel vehicles on site.
It is hoped that the project could be up and running in less than 24 months. Grid connections have already been secured and the front-end engineering design (FEED) studies for the site are complete. (edie)
photo: Budweiser
Battery storage unit dispatch rate sees increase of 47%
In the eight weeks following the bulk dispatch relaunch, energy consultant Modo Energy published data confirming a 47% increase in weekly battery storage dispatched volume.
In January 2024, National Grid ESO (ESO) relaunched bulk dispatch for battery energy storage units in the Balancing Mechanism (BM) following its closure in December 2023 due to technical issues.
The bulk dispatch functionality allows for more battery instructions to be issued simultaneously.
According to ESO data, approximately half of the battery unit dispatch volume is now being instructed through the Open Balancing Platform (OBP).
The impact of this re-introduction was felt across the battery storage marketplace, both in the increase of weekly dispatches and a newfound lack of correlation between unit size and dispatch rate. (solarpowerportal)
photo: Anesco
BSI launches nature market standards for consultation
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has launched a consultation on the first draft of a unified set of nature investment standards developed with funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
According to the announcement, BSI Flex 701 Nature Markets – Overarching Principles and Framework – Specification v1.0 seeks to establish a framework to create consistency and integrity across both nature markets and the trading of nature-based credits.
Nature markets revolve around units awarded and sold that are linked to the delivery of environmental benefits, such as habitat creation, nature-based carbon sinks, or improved water quality. However, such markets are currently seen as fragmented and lacking in common standards for verifying projects, assessing whether lasting environmental improvements are achieved, and enabling transparent transactions.
Intended for use by all market participants, the BSI hopes its new standard will help nature markets deliver positive environmental outcomes and protect against the risks of activity in nature markets leading to unintended consequences or ‘greenwashing’. (businessgreen)
EV OF THE WEEK
Audi Q6 E-Tron – For those that like nice cars
Who buys an EV? Despite gaining market share, I am quite aware that I am still talking to a niche audience, and many of my friends are in the “I’ll but an EV next time” camp. So, who are the cohort of EV enthusiasts? I think they mostly still come from the following: Geeks, early-adopters, money savers, environmentalists and people who rarely venture out of the city.
So, my contention is that the Audi Q6 E-Tron is for those who like a nice motor, but don’t want to shout “I’m driving an EV” and those for whom the “next time” is now. It looks like a normal Audi inside and out, has all the quality fitments. It drives well, like most EV’s, will run for 300 miles, charges the 100kWh battery very fast and even has a third screen for the passenger to watch a film without the driver seeing it.
The reviews pitch it against the Tesla Model Y, but I would think it sits a class above that along with the upcoming Porsche Macan, which runs on identical architecture.
I am guessing it will find quite a cohort of admirers, many of whom will not be the usual EV fanboy types.
photo: Audi
EUROPEAN STORIES
Germany kickstarts plans to dismantle gas distribution network
The German government has kickstarted the planning for a gradual decommissioning of the country’s gas distribution network in order to organise a smooth transition to climate-neutral heating for consumers and operators.
Grids for the existing natural gas supply will no longer be needed in their current form and scope once the country approaches its target of becoming climate neutral by 2045, the economy ministry said in a green paper.
Energy and climate think tank Agora Energiewende said last year that the gas pipeline network is set to become largely obsolete with the move to climate neutral energy sources, and that the country needed to ensure an orderly retirement of its gas distribution grid to avoid enormous costs for consumers and billions of euros of stranded assets for operators. (reneweconomy)
FOCUS ON: PEROVSKITE SOLAR
Miracle material’ solar panels close to commercialisation after breakthrough
Scientists have figured out a way to mass produce solar panels made out of a so-called miracle material that can massively boost their efficiency.
Perovskite has been hailed for its potential to revolutionise renewable energy, however converting its record-breaking success in the lab into commercial solar panels has proved difficult due to durability and reliability issues.
A team led by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US found that vacuum processes – used to make everything from smartphones to LEDs – held significant advantages over the solvent-based approach usually used to make lab-scale solar cells.
Solar cells that use a combination of perovskite and silicon have demonstrated vastly more potential to generate electricity from the Sun’s energy compared to traditional silicon cells.
In November, researchers from the Chinese solar technology firm Longi set a new world record of 33.9 per cent efficiency for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell – nearly 30 per cent more efficient than the best performing silicon cells.
The next-generation cells have a theoretical efficiency limit of 43 per cent – 50 per cent more than the 29 per cent limit of silicon cells – though this is unlikely to be realised on a commercial scale. (independent)
Flexible solar panels achieve record-breaking efficiency
Scientists have achieved a record-breaking level of efficiency for flexible solar panels using the so-called ‘miracle material’ perovskite.
The lightweight solar panels, developed by researchers in Australia and the UK, were able to convert 11 per cent of the Sun’s energy into electricity, making them suitable for commercial use.
Their flexibility means they can also be deployed in previously impossible ways, such as on curved roofs, awnings or even vehicles.
The international team – made up of scientists from the University of Cambridge, Monash University, the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales – made the breakthrough using a new technique to print the solar cells on bendy rolls.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), an Australian government agency led the research project.
Perovskite has been widely hailed for its potential to vastly increase the efficiency of solar panels, offering a theoretical limit of 43 per cent when combined with silicon compared to just 29 per cent for conventional silicon (PV) solar cells.
Despite being a long way off this record, the 11 per cent achieved in the latest tests is far greater than the efficiency levels of around one or two per cent that printed flexible solar panels currently offer. (independent)
photo: CSIRO
ECO-MYTHBUSTER OF THE WEEK HEAT PUMPS
Apologies for a long post. I have abbreviated the narrative, and would recommend reading the full article in the link below.
Factcheck: 18 misleading myths about heat pumps
Heat pumps are a mature technology and are very popular in countries such as Norway, Sweden and Finland, where they are the dominant heating technology. For the first time in 2022, heat pumps outsold gas boilers in the US – and they continued to do so in 2023.
Yet, in major economies such as the UK and Germany, heat pumps are the subject of hostile and misleading reporting across many mainstream media outlets.
Here, Carbon Brief factchecks 18 of the most common and persistent myths about heat pumps:
- FALSE: ‘Heat pumps don’t work in existing buildings.’
After conducting several case studies of old homes with “air-source” heat pumps – those that draw energy from the outside air – public body Historic England concluded in a report last year that these “work well in a range of different historic building types and uses”. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps only work in highly insulated buildings.’
Heat pumps can work in any building if sized, designed and installed correctly. Many uninsulated homes and buildings are already heated to comfortable temperatures with heat pumps, as shown across multiple case studies, including an uninsulated stone church. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps only work with underfloor heating.’
Heat pumps work very well with radiators, too, although the lower flow temperature required by underfloor heating means this radiant heating can make heat pumps work more efficiently. In some cases radiators may need upgrading. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps won’t work in flats.’
Finding space for the outside units of air-source heat pumps can indeed be a challenge, when it comes to multi-apartment buildings. Solutions for this problem exist, just as they do with air conditioning units - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps don’t work when it’s cold.’
Sweden, Finland and Norway have the highest adoption of heat pumps. Enough said. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps will always need a backup heating system to keep you warm.‘
Roughly 79% of the homes monitored under the UK’s electrification of heat project have no backup heating system and use a heat pump to provide all of their hot water and space heating needs. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps won’t keep you warm.’
Similar to #5 above. In a survey carried out in the UK on behalf of charity Nesta, more than 80% of people stated that they are satisfied with the ability of their heat pump to provide space and hot water heating. This is a satisfaction level similar to households with gas boilers, Nesta said. - INCOMPLETE: ‘You will freeze during a power cut and be better off with a gas boiler.’
It is correct that a heat pump will not work during a power cut. But the same is the case for gas boilers, which require electricity for controls and to pump hot water through your radiators. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps are noisy.’
About the same noise as a fridge. - INCOMPLETE: ‘Heat pumps cost more to run”
Gas is currently considerably cheaper than electricity in the UK. Can a heat pumps greater efficiency make up the difference? Yes, but in two senarios: first it depends on the installation, and on this I recommend watching HeatGeek’s video HERE. Secondly, there are specific tariffs that can help such as “Octopus Cosy” or OVO’s “Heat Pump Plus” - FALSE. ‘Turning gas to electricity to heat via a heat pump is less efficient than burning gas in a boiler.’
If you take into account the way the UK actually generates electricity, the same heat pump would cut gas demand – and the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – by at least three-quarters over the next 15 years. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps will never offset the carbon emissions resulting from making them.’
This argument has been used for EV’s and solar as well. According to one peer-reviewed study, HERE it takes 1,563kg of CO2 equivalent (kgCO2e) to manufacture a domestic heat pump. This figure – 1.6tCO2e – can be compared with annual per capita emissions in the UK of 5.6tCO2e in 2023. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps devalue properties.’
Evidence from the USA would suggest the opposite. - INCOMPLETE: ‘Heat pumps are unaffordable.’
It is true that heat pumps are more expensive to buy than gas boilers. But there are companies now that offer heat pumps, after grants that are cheaper than boilers. - INCOMPLETE: ‘The grid cannot cope with heat pumps.’
Similar argument to EV charging. Put simply, the grid has time to adjust, to improve management of spare capacity and, although not many people realise this, UK electricity demand has actually fallen by 18% over the last two decades, thanks to greater efficiency, such as switching to LED lighting. - INCOMPLETE: ‘Heat pumps don’t work with microbore piping.’
It is correct that microbore pipes are not always ideal for heat pumps. But it is incorrect to say that heat pumps will not work with microbore piping. - FALSE: ‘Heat pumps don’t last long.’
Nonsense. The UK government assumes a lifetime of 20 years in its official impact assessment for heat pump subsidies. - INCOMPLETE: ‘Heat pumps are new and untested technology.’
Also nonsense. A heat pump was installed in the City Hall of Zurich in 1938 and was not replaced until 2001. The first heat pump in the UK was installed in Norwich in 1945 by John Sumner, the city electrical engineer for Norwich. (carbonbrief)
GLOBAL STUFF
Next-gen geothermal could provide 10% of additional clean energy in US
Next-generation geothermal could economically provide up to 90 GW of U.S. clean energy by 2050 and play a significant role in decarbonizing the nation’s economy, the U.S. Department of Energy concluded in a “Pathways to Commercial Liftoff” report published this week, (read it HERE).
There is about 3.7 GW of conventional geothermal power operating in the U.S. today, limited by the need to locate facilities at naturally occurring reservoirs of hot rocks that can be used to generate steam.
Next-gen geothermal technologies include the use of advanced drilling and hydraulic fracturing practices that allow generation to be located in places where hot rock was previously impermeable.
New geothermal development techniques and technologies could help the U.S. increase current installed capacity by more than 20 times, DOE concluded in its report.
DOE in 2022 announced a goal to reduce the costs of enhanced geothermal systems by 90%, to $45/MWh by 2035. “Recent technical successes indicate the industry is on track to achieving ambitious targets,” according to the report. (utilitydive)
photo: Controlled Thermal Resources
Batteries to turn Kalgoorlie into massive micro-grid after storms
The Western Australia state government has announced a tender that will seek up to 150 MW of new grid capacity to help turn the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie and the surrounding region into a massive, potentially standalone renewable micro-grid.
The move follows the dramatic storms last month that tore down the main transmission line to Kalgoorlie and the failure of the fossil-fuel back-up generators that were supposed to supply emergency power, but which left nearly the entire city blacked out for more than a day.
The new capacity will be sought through a framework known as the Non-Cooptimised Essential System Services, which has already delivered a series of massive battery projects that have the specific task of shifting solar from the middle of the day to the evening peaks.
Those big batteries – in the coal centre Collie, and Kwinana and Wagerup – are designed to smooth the path from base-load coal generators to a system dominated by renewables.
But the Kalgoorlie tender is designed specifically to improve the reliability of supply in the eastern goldfields, and avoid a significant investment in new transmission lines, and to support a standalone microgrid if needed.
The tender, being made through Western Power, the state-owned network company, will seek 150 MW of “capacity “reliability services” and 1,500 MVA of system strength services.
To improve resilience it will likely seek multiple rather than a single project, and while the tender is not restricted to battery storage, it is likely to be the quickest and lowest cost option to meet the deadline of July, 2026. (reneweconomy)
