Energy Sector News

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Octopus has created their own heat pump. I'm very impressed with how quickly this company innovates. They have become the UKs 2nd largest energy retailer. They are pushing hard into all areas of the sustainable energy future.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1702289978665869731

I knew that Octopus was training heat pump installers. And I read today that they bought a UK heat pump company in 2022. The company was focused more on high end, but Octopus backing meant they could work to scale and be cheaper.

The new heat pump is a high-temperature(-capable) heat pump, which is an interesting option, but really something that should be avoided if possible due to higher running costs. But, I suppose it opens up the option of installing first and then working on internal changes later.

If you want to do something right ...

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $90/bbl
Brent $93 /bbl
NL TTF gas €36 /MWh (EU Natural Gas - 2022 Data - 2010-2021 Historical - 2023 Forecast - Price - Quote)

Lemmings in action

Auto workers strike after contract talks with US car giants fail

United Auto Workers union unable to agree deal with Ford, GM and Stellantis, who have seen profits and executive pay soar

www.theguardian.com

EU politicking, green collateral damage

Opinion: despite von der Leyen’s reassuring words, the EU Green Deal is in trouble

Von der Leyen has tried to reassure MEPs she is resisting pressure to dilute the Green Deal. But political incentives are not in its favour.

www.energymonitor.ai

USA IRA review time

The US Inflation Reduction Act one year on: a boost for US cleantech?

The US Inflation Reduction Act one year on. The IRA will help to achieve a 40% reduction in US carbon emissions by 2030.

www.energymonitor.ai

Taxpayer hijacks comon in last man standing games in strategic heavy industry sectors

Tata Steel seals £500m UK support package but big job losses feared

Unions say as many as 3,000 workers could lose posts in long term on back of deal to help decarbonisation plans

www.theguardian.com

Carbon credit nonsense is scam, as often said before

Rainforest carbon credit schemes misleading and ineffective, finds report

System not fit for carbon offsetting, puts Indigenous communities at risk and should be replaced with new approach, say researchers

www.theguardian.com

Fossil FUD worsens, history

New files shed light on ExxonMobil’s efforts to undermine climate science

Executives privately sought to downplay link between fossil fuels and climate change despite public pronouncements, WSJ reports

www.theguardian.com

Gaming credits

New US wind installations fell 45% YOY, report finds

Developers connected 1,099 MW of new wind power capacity to US electric grids in the second quarter, a 45% decline from the year-ago period.

www.renewableenergyworld.com

Offshoring carbon emissions, next stop ?

Can China decouple emissions from economic growth?

Many Western countries have decoupled emissions from GDP growth, though some argue this doesn't amount to green growth. Can China follow?

www.energymonitor.ai

Efficiency improves, evidence

Energy use for transportation increased from pre-pandemic levels in 2021 in only 12 states

www.eia.gov

Drilled storage ?

Sage demonstrates long-duration storage with underground reservoirs

US-based Sage Geosystems has presented field results showing that its Earthstore underground storage system can provide 18 hours or more of storage capacity, in addition to short-duration power. The solution is said to be cost-competitive with lithium-ion batteries and natural gas peaker plants.

www.pv-magazine.com

Brazil solar

Distributed-generation solar tops 10.4 GW in Brazil

The Brazilian states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Piauí have the largest share of installed capacity from PV systems below 5 MW in size. Distributed-generation solar now represents more than 5% of the country's electricity mix.

www.pv-magazine.com

Tasty moves in offshore Germany

Vattenfall Exercises Step-In Right for Offshore Wind Site Germany Provisionally Awarded to RWE

Vattenfall today (14 September) informed the German Federal Network Agency (BSH) that it is invoking its right of entry for the N-6.6 offshore wind site that BSH provisionally awarded to RWE last month. Vattenfall, which holds a step-in right for the site following changes to the German offshore...

www.offshorewind.biz

23GW ambition offshore Brazil

Petrobras Unveils 23 GW Wind Power Play Offshore Brazil

Petrobras has unveiled plans to develop wind farms offshore Brazil with a potential capacity of up to 23 GW, including a floating wind project in Rio de Janeiro.

www.offshorewind.biz

 

[navguy12]

Sage demonstrates long-duration storage with underground reservoirs

US-based Sage Geosystems has presented field results showing that its Earthstore underground storage system can provide 18 hours or more of storage capacity, in addition to short-duration power. The solution is said to be cost-competitive with lithium-ion batteries and natural gas peaker plants.

www.pv-magazine.com

I hope this can be used with orphaned gas/oil wells.

 

[petit_bateau]

*** I am travelling this week so things may be patchy ***

WTI $92/bbl
Brent $94 /bbl
NL TTF gas €34 /MWh (EU Natural Gas - 2022 Data - 2010-2021 Historical - 2023 Forecast - Price - Quote)

Are all OPEC countries actually making their quota ? When will US fraccers bump up the rig count again ? The oil price is definitely on the higher side again.

China restocking oil

China imported record volumes of crude oil in the first half of 2023

www.eia.gov

Balkan rail bypass (and road and pipeline and river and grid ...)

New Italy-Serbia rail corridor could serve as Ukraine bypass

A new rail freight corridor connecting the Italian northeast with the Serbian capital Belgrade will open at the end of September. The main purpose of the initiative is to transport products manufactured in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region that will be used for the construction of large civil...

www.railfreight.com

South Korea offshore

South Korea's First Offshore Wind Installation Vessel Installs Its First Turbines at Jeju Project Site

Hyundai Engineering & Steel Industries' offshore wind installation vessel, named Hyundai Frontier and said to be the country's first vessel of this kind, has completed its first wind turbine installation task at a wind farm offshore the Jeju island.

www.offshorewind.biz

Chinese solar juggernaut

Chinese PV Industry Brief: Rystad forecasts 150 GW of new solar in 2023

Rystad Energy believes China could be on track for another record year in 2023, with expectations for more than 150 GW of new PV capacity. The Norwegian consultancy says the country could also potentially install 165 GW in 2024 and 170 GW in 2025.

www.pv-magazine.com

 

[petit_bateau]

*** I am travelling this week so things may be patchy ***

WTI $92/bbl
Brent $95 /bbl
NL TTF gas €37 /MWh (EU Natural Gas - 2022 Data - 2010-2021 Historical - 2023 Forecast - Price - Quote)

Not us guv

Saudi energy minister says OPEC+ cuts were needed to stabilize oil market

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Monday defended OPEC+ cuts to oil market supply, saying international energy markets need light-handed regulation to limit volatility.

www.reuters.com

Diss China = find your own cash

Private investment sought for Sizewell C project : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

The UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has launched a pre-qualification for potential investors as the first stage of an equity raise process for the Sizewell C nuclear power plant project in Suffolk, England.

world-nuclear-news.org

Iran games

Iran withdraws further IAEA inspector designations : Regulation & Safety - World Nuclear News

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has called for the Iranian government to reconsider the decision which affects the planning and conducting of nuclear safeguards verification activities.

world-nuclear-news.org

USA nuclear

Palisades restart takes 'giant step' with Holtec-Wolverine deal : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

A long-term power purchase agreement signed between Holtec Palisades Energy and the non-profit Wolverine Power Cooperative is described as a "significant milestone" towards restarting the 800 MW Palisades nuclear power plant in the USA.

world-nuclear-news.org

 

[navguy12]

USA nuclear

Palisades restart takes 'giant step' with Holtec-Wolverine deal : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News

A long-term power purchase agreement signed between Holtec Palisades Energy and the non-profit Wolverine Power Cooperative is described as a "significant milestone" towards restarting the 800 MW Palisades nuclear power plant in the USA.

world-nuclear-news.org

One must wonder how much it would cost to just have the equivalent power produced via wind/solar/batteries.

My gut tells me the LCOE of the proposed recommissioning of an old nuclear site with a new reactor (even if said reactor would be a sort of SME) must be higher than the battery backed renewables option.

The last paragraph of that story also had this little tidbit:

It is not yet known how long Palisades would be allowed to operate for if it gets the go-ahead to restart. However in 2019 the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Florida Power and Light's application for a 20-year subsequent licence extension for Turkey Point units 3 and 4 - pressurised water reactors which entered commercial operation in 1972 and 1973 - which was the first time the regulator had issued licences authorising reactors to operate for up to 80 years.

IDK, but like an old car that is pressed into maintaining service, the servicing costs of reactors that approach 80 years old must be astronomical.

 

[fhteagle]

One must wonder how much it would cost to just have the equivalent power produced via wind/solar/batteries.

According to Chris Kiefer, President of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, the ROI on nuclear is roughly 16x higher than wind water solar. That's his CANDU attitude showing for sure...

See slide at time code 13:51 in the below:

I am kind of digging what the CANDU design allows for refurb / rebuild. I'm no expert though, I'm sure there are other tradeoffs with the design. But it does look like it's working well for Ontario into their second life span rounds.

 

[navguy12]

According to Chris Kiefer, President of Canadians for Nuclear Energy, the ROI on nuclear is roughly 16x higher than wind water solar. That's his CANDU attitude showing for sure...

See slide at time code 13:51 in the below:

I am kind of digging what the CANDU design allows for refurb / rebuild. I'm no expert though, I'm sure there are other tradeoffs with the design. But it does look like it's working well for Ontario into their second life span rounds.

As an Ontario resident for the past 33 years, lets just say there are a lot of special interests in keeping our nuclear fleet running, at any cost.

The last time I dug into this quagmire was with an auditor general’s report back in 2014ish time frame; I won’t delve into that again.

Lets just say using a metric like (for example)

the ROI on nuclear is roughly 16x higher than wind water solar

versus a metric like what Lazard puts out every year (LCOE comparisons) makes me sceptical of any business case for nuclear.

It just seems to me that the learning rate for nuclear is the opposite of any other modern technology out there.

Maybe SMRs will finally, after Lewis L. Strauss* claimed 70 years ago, produce power “too cheap to meter”

*Only after watching the movie “Oppenheimer” did I learn of this man’s existence and his place in US political history.

 

[fhteagle]

versus a metric like what Lazard puts out every year (LCOE comparisons) makes me sceptical of any business case for nuclear.

Yeah I'm having trouble melding those two different opinions as well. Lazard is certainly a very informed opinion, but still, AFAICT subject to assumptions and analyst decisions that shape the data.

I'm starting to coalesce around three categories of energy generation sources:
- Ultra reliable: nuclear, coal, "big dam heroes" hydro
- Moderately reliable: fossil gas, "run of river" class hydro, solar and wind backed by pumped hydro scale storage
- Low reliability: solar, wind with less than 24 hours storage

Comparing like for like in category, I don't find nuclear to be way out of line with it's category mates. Yes nuclear and big dam hydro have big price tags up front, but generations of low marginal cost power. Coal is cheaper at the start, more expensive to fuel, and very expensive in externalities not paid for by the plant operator. So, with all the real costs baked in, nuclear stacks up to its class mates to my eye.

Again, not an academically rigorous analysis, just where my thinking is going these days. Cost is an important metric, but cost-reliability ratio is to me a more informative way to express value.

 

[navguy12]

Yeah I'm having trouble melding those two different opinions as well. Lazard is certainly a very informed opinion, but still, AFAICT subject to assumptions and analyst decisions that shape the data.

I'm starting to coalesce around three categories of energy generation sources:
- Ultra reliable: nuclear, coal, "big dam heroes" hydro
- Moderately reliable: fossil gas, "run of river" class hydro, solar and wind backed by pumped hydro scale storage
- Low reliability: solar, wind with less than 24 hours storage

Comparing like for like in category, I don't find nuclear to be way out of line with it's category mates. Yes nuclear and big dam hydro have big price tags up front, but generations of low marginal cost power. Coal is cheaper at the start, more expensive to fuel, and very expensive in externalities not paid for by the plant operator. So, with all the real costs baked in, nuclear stacks up to its class mates to my eye.

Again, not an academically rigorous analysis, just where my thinking is going these days. Cost is an important metric, but cost-reliability ratio is to me a more informative way to express value.

Watching the ERCOT region continue to evolve and without obsessing at how the current regime running that area is trying to add drag to the continued implementation of renewables, tells me the market has already chosen your current “low reliability“ category.

In Ontario the planned/underway refurbishment costs for the 10 (?) reactors being refurbished continues to creep.

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $91/bbl
Brent $93 /bbl
NL TTF gas €37 /MWh (EU Natural Gas - 2022 Data - 2010-2021 Historical - 2023 Forecast - Price - Quote)

(Brent WTI spread has tightened a lot)

(I've recently met a real life SMR person, so when I get back from my travels in a couple of months I will quiz them to try and get a levelised LCOE on a parri passu basis to compare with the Lazards ones, including intermittency cover)

Appealing to the fossil base (utter stupidity by the Cons)

UK net zero policies: what has Rishi Sunak scrapped?

PM has outlined plans to delay some climate targets, saying they will save people money. Experts give their view

www.theguardian.com

and well said

Sunak’s net zero U-turn is so toxic that it’s united Green MPs and car manufacturers against him | Caroline Lucas

With climate change a top priority for the public, surely time is up for a prime minister who couldn’t seem to care less, says Green MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas

www.theguardian.com

and

E.ON boss hits out at Sunak’s plan to row back on net zero policies

PM accused of delaying vital work on transforming UK economy as car industry leaders also condemn plans

www.theguardian.com

and

See Sunak’s green retreat for what it is: a ruthless short-term electoral gamble | Martin Kettle

The PM has calculated that he can gain points with his party membership and skew byelection results. But at what cost, asks Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

www.theguardian.com

Price of green steel, and past inaction

Tata Steel to begin Port Talbot job cuts within months, say unions

Timeframe of large-scale redundancies discussed at meeting with bosses days after firm secured £500m state support package

www.theguardian.com

Tesla at 5m and USA at 2m

The United States surpassed two million on-road light-duty electric vehicles in 2021

www.eia.gov

Will this be for real ?

Germany launches colossal network upgrade, 40 routes renovated by 2030

Deutsche Bahn (DB) and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMDV) are about to launch an enormous infrastructure upgrade programme from 2025 until 2030. Forty critical route sections are to be renovated, some very important for rail freight transport. The...

www.railfreight.com

Money ?

Don’t write off the Just Energy Transition Partnership just yet

Experts spoken to by Energy Monitor argue that – despite its apparent flaws – the JETP remains unparalleled in the energy transition so far.

www.energymonitor.ai

Big Chinese numbers

Chinese PV Industry Brief: China hits 500 GW milestone

China reached 510 GW of installed PV capacity at the end of August, while FuturaSun started building a 10 GW solar cell factory in Jiangsu province.

www.pv-magazine.com

China in Germany - 20GWh/yr

China’s Gotion launches battery production in Germany

Gotion High-Tech has started making battery packs at its 20 GWh automated plant in Göttingen, Germany. It expects deliveries to clients in Europe to commence in October.

www.pv-magazine.com

 

[petit_bateau]

WTI $90/bbl
Brent $94 /bbl
NL TTF gas €39 /MWh (EU Natural Gas - 2022 Data - 2010-2021 Historical - 2023 Forecast - Price - Quote)

US hunts for offshore wind accelerator pedal

US Issues Roadmap to Accelerate Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission

On 19 September, the Biden-Harris administration released a roadmap that outlines immediate actions needed to connect the first generation of Atlantic offshore wind projects to the electric grids and longer-term efforts to support needed transmission over the next several decades. The roadmap...

www.offshorewind.biz

Cells are a strategic security issue, penny is dropping

Top ten countries for new lithium-ion battery projects

GlobalData data reveals that the US is catching up with China when it comes to investment in lithium-ion battery projects.

www.energymonitor.ai

UK stuffs it up, even more

Analysis: UK government’s climate U-turns put legally binding targets in jeopardy - Carbon Brief

A series of U-turns in climate policy announced by Rishi Sunak could put the UK’s legally binding emissions targets in jeopardy.

www.carbonbrief.org

I have my doubts

World on track to meet ‘well below 2°C’ Paris Agreement target

New forecast sees warming peaking at 1.8°C around the year 2050, but with more severe climate-related risks than previously predicted.

www.energymonitor.ai

What an admin vortex

UK carmakers will have to meet electric car sales targets despite Sunak U-turn

Firms call for support as government presses ahead with plan to impose minimum sales quotas in 2024

www.theguardian.com

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

What an admin vortex

UK carmakers will have to meet electric car sales targets despite Sunak U-turn

Firms call for support as government presses ahead with plan to impose minimum sales quotas in 2024

www.theguardian.com

Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), said: “[The industry’s] commitment to a zero-emission new car and van market remains unchanged.”

But he added: “Consumers need encouragement to buy more than ever”, and called for “a package of attractive incentives and measures to accelerate charging infrastructure to give consumers the confidence to switch”.

Infrastructure is the key UK issue at the moment. There is a craptonne* of money sitting on the sidelines because sites need power. Invest in speeding up power delivery to charging sites and things would be happening way faster.

* metric crapton

 

[petit_bateau]

On the road all day, through the Macedonian Gap at 33C. Harvesting and campaigning weather in eastern and southern Europe still. Tesla chargers much needed to link Greece in via the Balkans. I'll catch up with news etc tomorrow evening.

 

[petit_bateau]

Info : I will not be posting further until I have cleared up some recent moderator behaviour to my satisfaction.

 

[navguy12]

Info : I will not be posting further until I have cleared up some recent moderator behaviour to my satisfaction.

I hope you can clear things up to your satisfaction.

I really appreciate this thread you produce.

 

[navguy12]

‘Staggering’ green growth gives hope for 1.5C, says global energy chief

IEA’s Fatih Birol says uptake of solar power and EVs is in line with net zero goal but rich countries must hasten their broader plans

www.theguardian.com

 

[navguy12]

Renewables, meanwhile, make up just 15% of total energy use of which more than half is biomass, aka wood, and have already been wholly discredited, including by some UK Tory ministers and The Times. Wind, solar and nuclear make up most of the remainder with no prospect of these being increased anything like significantly enough. As for ‘carbon markets’, following numerous negative reports, these are now so discredited most related investments need to be considered as ‘junk’ according to a recent analysis by Corporate Accountability. Rishi Sunak’s claim the UK leads on ‘the road to net-zero’ relies heavily, incidentally, on biomass and carbon credits.

The IPCC’s AR6 report also still includes wildly unrealistic allowances for both renewables and carbon dioxide removal in their projections. This allowed Fatih Birol, an energy economist and chair of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to point enthusiastically — in September 2023 — to the possible tripling of renewables by 2030. He acknowledges this ‘staggering growth’ has no significant impact on greenhouse gas emissions which also continue to grow, but this does not prevent Fiona Harvey in the Guardian reporting this ‘brightens the prospects of staying within 1.5C’. The climate scientist Bill McGuire sums up this analysis succinctly as, ‘madness’.

Watering Down Water

How Rishi Sunak’s reneging on climate commitments makes zero difference.

medium.com

 

[navguy12]

The anti-renewable rhetoric from the Alberta government continues.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the national ad campaign on Sept. 28, railing against the federal government’s “disastrous energy regulations” that served “narrow ideological interests.”
The draft clean energy regulations that Smith and her government are protesting were released by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in August, and meant to guide Canada’s energy grid to netzero by 2035.

Toronto Star ePaper

Toronto Star ePaper

torontostarreplica.pressreader.com

 

[navguy12]

More proof of regulatory capture in Alberta (where renewables have been shut down while “solution’s“ are found to deal with end of life issues).

The AER now estimates conventional oil and gas closure liabilities at around $60-billion (double its 2018 official estimate), but it holds less than $295-million in security as of July, 2023.

(Paywalled)

Catastrophe looms without overhaul of Alberta’s inactive oil and gas well rules, report says

Report says the current policy fails to address a host of structural problems, including continuing secrecy and undue industry influence on the regulator

www.theglobeandmail.com