There is some kind of irony that the developed world put the CO2 into the atmosphere and Africa takes it out (see below)
COMPANY NEWS
Siemens Energy to deploy ‘first’ synchronous condenser-BESS hybrid project in Ireland
It pairs a synchronous condenser, including a flywheel, capable of injecting 4000MW of inertia into the grid, and a large scale battery storage system (BESS) of 160MWh. Siemens will also provide the power conversion systems, energy management systems and medium voltage equipment. The total order is worth €85 million and work has already begun on the site.
Although Siemens Energy did not specify, it appears to be for the ‘Shannonbridge B’ project developed by Lumcloon Energy and Hanwha Energy, on which construction started one year ago.
Synchronous condensers provide low-carbon inertia, which can be combined with the BESS’ ability to provide rapid frequency response, reserve and ramping services, allowing the plant to respond to sudden changes in electricity supply and demand. (energystoragenews)
photo: Siemens Energy
UK NEWS
Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm becomes fully operational
The 1.1GW Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm has begun exporting power at full capacity, putting it on track to deliver clean power to almost 1.6 million homes a year.
Both Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest fixed-bottom offshore wind farm, Seagreen is a joint venture between TotalEnergies and SSE Renewables comprising 114 turbines situated 27 kilometre off the Angus coast in the North Sea’s Firth of Forth.
Operated from a dedicated onshore operations and maintenance base at Montrose Port, the 1,075MW project has the potential to displace more than two million tonnes of CO2 a year from electricity generated by fossil fuels. (businessgreen)
photo: Seagreen
Waitrose Farms becomes first UK retailer to power tractors on its own biogas
Based near Stockbridge, Hampshire, the 1,130 hectare Leckford Estate has been the farming base for Waitrose for the past 94 years. Originally purchased by the partnership’s founder, the business continues to produce commodities for the retailers national supermarket chain.
Reflecting its wider strategy to become carbon neutral by 2035, the farm has installed a biomethane collection system developed by Cornish-based Bennaman. Currently the largest system of its type commissioned, the site uses the solid manure from the 500 head beef unit, which is processed into a slurry using a fixed Triolet stationary mixer and modified Vogelsang separator.
The system developed by Bennamann was originally designed to operate with liquid slurry from dairy units, however the requirements from the John Lewis Partnership (JLP) pushed the development of a system which can use solid manures.
Once separated, the slurry is contained within a covered lagoon from which the raw gas is processed initially to remove the toxic hydrogen sulphide element and then upgraded using a mobile compressed fugitive methane (CFM) skid unit. The raw gas compound comprises carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour at a relative humidity of 80-90 per cent. The skid unit compresses and chills the gas to remove the water content and filters to extract the CO2. (farmersguardian)
Scottish community raises £5m for “pioneering” wind turbine
A Scottish community group, ATTIX Community Interest Company (CIC), has successfully secured over £5 million in funding for their community-owned onshore wind turbine project.
The initiative, situated near Kilbirnie in North Ayrshire, will be fully operational without relying on government price support mechanisms.
The funding includes £4 million from Thrive Renewables, a renewable energy investment company, and an additional £1.6 million from Social Investment Scotland, a responsible finance provider.
Local Energy Scotland also played a significant role in supporting the project through funding from the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES).
Once operational, the wind turbine, with a capacity of 2.5MW, will annually generate 7,839MWh of electricity, equivalent to powering 2,234 average UK homes and reducing carbon emissions by 3,324 tonnes each year.
The profits from electricity sales will be reinvested into the local community, potentially funding various community projects. (energylivenews)
Gloucestershire Airport to take part in trial of green hydrogen refuelling
Project Heart is a collaboration between Protium, a green hydrogen energy services company, Haskel, who manufacture hydrogen compression systems and Nel Hydrogen, a hydrogen generation and distribution specialist.
Gloucestershire Airport will join the Project Heart initiative to create, store and distribute green fuel.
The trial will create fuel for small aircraft with a range of 500 miles, but it is hoped the fuel will eventually be used for larger passenger planes.
The facility is expected to start producing hydrogen in the summer of 2024. (energycentral)
EV OF THE WEEK
Crossing the Sahara in a solar powered car
A solar-powered car said to be the first in the world capable of driving off-road over long distances without recharging has completed a 620-mile test drive across Morocco and the Sahara.
The two-seat Stella Terra, designed by students at the Eindhoven University of Technology, completed the journey across a variety of challenging landscapes as part of a final test of its lightweight frame and aerodynamic profile.
The car, which runs off the energy provided by multiple solar panels on its roof, has a top speed of 90mph, weighs only 1,200kg and has a range of at least 440 miles on a sunny day.
Wisse Bos, team manager of Solar Team Eindhoven, said the technology used, complementing a lightweight frame with highly efficient solar panels, was a decade ahead of anything on the market. (guardian)
photo: Eindhoven University of Technology
EUROPEAN STORIES
France unveils battery-powered trains
The French regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie Pyrénées-Méditerranée and Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur have joined forces to reduce carbon dioxide emissions on non-electric railway lines.
The project involves transforming five dual-mode electric-diesel trainsets by replacing their diesel engines with batteries, rendering them 100% electric.
The first battery-powered train from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region left the Crespin Alstom site during the summer and has now initiated dynamic testing. (energylivenews)
photo: Alsthom
Work on Europe’s largest carbon capture site to start in Rotterdam next year
Construction of Europe’s largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility will begin in the Rotterdam port area next year, its developers said on Wednesday.
The planned “Porthos” project will require an investment of €1.3 billion and is expected to be operational by 2026, said its developers, who include the Rotterdam port authorities and Dutch gas company Gasunie.
Under the project, CO2 emitted by refineries and chemical plants operated by Shell, Exxon Mobil, Air Liquide and Air Products will be transported to empty gas fields under the North Sea around 20 kilometres off the Dutch coast.
There it will be stored at a depth of 3 to 4 kilometres under the seabed, reducing the Netherlands’ annual CO2 emissions by an estimated 2% for a period of 15 years from 2026. (reuters)
map: Gasunie
FOCUS ON: SECOND NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT (NIA2)
The National Infrstructure Commission report every five years. This, second report details good progress in many respects but highlights that there is much to do, plus some advice on what not to do:
The good:
The growth in renewable electricity generation, the establishment of the UK Infrastructure Bank, further devolution deals, and clear pathways for the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband and the uptake of electric vehicles.
The not so good:
Efforts to decarbonise heat have been meagre. Transport emissions aren’t declining. Limited grid capacity and poor road and rail connectivity are holding back progress. The cost of building infrastructure in the UK is too high by international standards, even before the impact of high inflation. The UK must get better at controlling costs.
Greater policy certainty, faster decision-making, stable regulation and a more effective planning system are all part of the solution. Up front costs will be high (estimate £25-35m per year), but ultimately the UK’s infrastructure will be cheaper to run. (ice)
NIO2’s suggestion as what not to do:
UK should rule out hydrogen for home heating
The Government is yet to make a strategic decision on whether hydrogen will have a major role to play in replacing gas in home heating. It is set to make that choice in 2026, following a series of local trials of increasing size.
Gas networks are pushing hydrogen blending as a key option. The NIC’s new Assessment comes down staunchly against hydrogen for home heating on efficiency and cost grounds, and recommends that the Government backs electric heating as “the only viable option for decarbonising buildings at scale”.
The Commission has taken a thinly-veiled dig at Sunak and his Government by emphasising the importance of policy stability in galvanising economic support for emerging low-carbon technologies such as heat pumps.
The NIC is recommending that the Government fully subsidises heat pump installation costs for one-third of homes, based on income. All others should benefit from a £7,000 grant to switch to a heat pump or heat network. (edie)
GLOBAL STUFF
Groundbreaking Carbon Removal Plant Unveiled in Africa
A ground-breaking project aimed at reducing carbon output within the atmosphere is set to be established in Kenya – the first of it’s kind on the African continent. This initiative, a direct air capture plant, represents a partnership between Swiss company Climeworks and Kenya’s own Great Carbon Valley, aiming to eliminate as much as 1 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere annually.
Unveiled in September, this endeavour is envisioned as a catalyst for ushering in a green economy in Africa, a region poised to witness substantial investments in climate-related ventures, projected to reach trillions of dollars in the years to come. (renewbleinstitute)
photo: Great Carbon Valley
China invests big in solar & wind
China is on track to double its utility-scale solar and wind power capacity and shatter the central government’s ambitious 2030 target of 1,200 gigawatts (GW) five years ahead of schedule, if all prospective projects are successfully built and commissioned, according to a new report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM).
The Global Solar and Wind Power Trackers identify prospective projects that have been announced or are in the pre-construction and construction phases totalling approximately 379 GW of large utility-scale solar and 371 GW of wind capacity, which is roughly equal to China’s current installed operating capacity.
Nearly all of this prospective capacity is part of the government’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and enough to increase the global wind fleet by nearly half and large utility-scale solar installations by over 85%. This amount of prospective solar capacity is triple that of the United States. (globalenergymonitor)
Biden Wants To Drag The US Electrical Grid Into The 21st Century
Transitioning to a 21st century grid with lots of renewables, including microgrids that operate within it, is a daunting task. In some cases, requests to connect to the grid are taking up to five years for approval. Which is why the Biden administration this week announced $3.46 billion in funding to upgrade America’s electric grid — the largest single investment in the US grid in history.
The money will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will go to 58 different projects across 44 states. For a full list of the recipients, click here. President Biden has set a goal of creating a 100% carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035, which will help the US keep the carbon reduction commitments it made in Paris in 2015. (cleantechnica)
