Prediction: Coal has fallen. Nuclear is next then Oil.

[mspohr]

Oil and gas greenhouse emissions ‘three times higher’ than producers claim

Greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities around the world are about three times higher than their producers claim, new data has shown. Climate Trace, a project to measure at source the true levels of carbon dioxide and other global heating gases, published a new report on Wednesday showing that half of the 50 largest sources of greenhouse gases in the world were oil and gas fields and production facilities. Many are underreporting their emissions, and there are few means of calling them to account.

 

[DrGriz]

Oil and gas greenhouse emissions ‘three times higher’ than producers claim

Greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas facilities around the world are about three times higher than their producers claim, new data has shown. Climate Trace, a project to measure at source the true levels of carbon dioxide and other global heating gases, published a new report on Wednesday showing that half of the 50 largest sources of greenhouse gases in the world were oil and gas fields and production facilities. Many are underreporting their emissions, and there are few means of calling them to account.

 

[mspohr]

Increasing demand for oil and fuel threatens African nations’ economies, analysis finds

Carbon Tracker thinktank says investors in fossil fuels on the continent would be left with stranded assets

www.theguardian.com

Expanding oil and gas exports would threaten the economic stability of many African countries, new analysis has found, despite soaring fossil fuel prices.

Demand for fossil fuels is likely to fall sharply in the medium term, according to a report published on Monday by the Carbon Tracker thinktank. That makes relying on gas exports to fuel economic growth a short-term, risky strategy, while boosting solar power would prove a better long-term bet, the analysis found.

“The “dash for gas” in Africa is dangerous and shortsighted,” wrote a coalition of dozens of African climate groups in an open letter as part of a campaign called “Don’t Gas Africa”.

Mohamed Adow, director of the Power Shift Africa thinktank, said Africa’s plentiful solar and wind resources offered a better route to energy than investing in gas. “For far too long, Africa has been controlled by outside interests – a resource pool for extraction and export, and a dumping ground for the practices and technologies no longer wanted elsewhere,” he said.

 

[eevee-fan]

The world's first CO2 battery for long-duration energy storage is headed to the US

Italian startup Energy Dome, which makes the world's first CO2 battery, is officially entering the US market.

electrek.co

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The world's first CO2 battery for long-duration energy storage is headed to the US

Italian startup Energy Dome, which makes the world's first CO2 battery, is officially entering the US market.

electrek.co

I don't trust any company that uses the term "rare earth" for cobalt or lithium.

 

[mspohr]

I don't trust any company that uses the term "rare earth" for cobalt or lithium.

Yes, the hype is strong in this PR piece.
Also, they have thermal inefficiencies in compression and expansion (same as hydrogen) that will need to be overcome.

 

[eevee-fan]

Yes, the hype is strong in this PR piece.
Also, they have thermal inefficiencies in compression and expansion (same as hydrogen) that will need to be overcome.

CO2 Battery Technology - First Full Scale Demonstration

Energy Dome launches world’s first CO2 battery technology for long-duration energy in 2022 at Sardinia, Italy

changediscussion.com

And remember that CO2 is already being used as a refrigerant outside the US.

 

[mspohr]

CO2 Battery Technology - First Full Scale Demonstration

Energy Dome launches world’s first CO2 battery technology for long-duration energy in 2022 at Sardinia, Italy

changediscussion.com

And remember that CO2 is already being used as a refrigerant outside the US.

The problem is they compress the CO2 and this creates heat which they have to discard. When they decompress the CO2, it makes cold so they need to heat it. They are wasting heat during compression and wasting heat during decompression. It's a lose-lose situation.
(H2 storage has the same problem.)
CO2 is fine as a refrigerant since you are using the cold immediately.

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

The problem is they compress the CO2 and this creates heat which they have to discard. When they decompress the CO2, it makes cold so they need to heat it. They are wasting heat during compression and wasting heat during decompression. It's a lose-lose situation.
(H2 storage has the same problem.)
CO2 is fine as a refrigerant since you are using the cold immediately.

It's not anywhere near "highly efficient", but since it's dumping/extracting heat from the air, it's NOT a complete waste either. As long as it is more efficient than storing hydrogen and pumped hydro, then it's a viable alternative for long duration energy storage. So, is it more efficient than pumped hydro?

 

[eevee-fan]

The problem is they compress the CO2 and this creates heat which they have to discard. When they decompress the CO2, it makes cold so they need to heat it. They are wasting heat during compression and wasting heat during decompression. It's a lose-lose situation.
(H2 storage has the same problem.)
CO2 is fine as a refrigerant since you are using the cold immediately.

If there were only a way to store heat and cold for later use. Oh, there is! These are actual companies with products, so I am pretty sure they got that figured out when talking about 70-75% round trip efficiency.

 

[mspohr]

If there were only a way to store heat and cold for later use. Oh, there is! These are actual companies with products, so I am pretty sure they got that figured out when talking about 70-75% round trip efficiency.

Yes, they do store the heat and cold for later use. However, it reduces the efficiency.
Pumped storage is 85% efficient.
Batteries are 80% efficient.

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

Yes, they do store the heat and cold for later use. However, it reduces the efficiency.
Pumped storage is 85% efficient.
Batteries are 80% efficient.

I don't think those numbers are right (since pumped hydro has to deal with evaporative and mechanical losses). EIA is reporting 79% for pumped storage and 82% for batteries: Utility-scale batteries and pumped storage return about 80% of the electricity they store

Since it's data from 2018/2019 (1.4GW deployed), I suspect that much of it is Lead-Acid type batteries which have higher internal resistance than Li-Ion cells. So the battery efficiency can be higher than 82% as more megapacks are deployed.

 

[eevee-fan]

Yes, they do store the heat and cold for later use. However, it reduces the efficiency.
Pumped storage is 85% efficient.
Batteries are 80% efficient.

So then it comes down to cost of energy. Assuming solar and wind are effectively free (when supply > demand), lower efficiency is not that important vs lower cost of project. This is where hydrogen storage still gets some backers.

 

[eevee-fan]

Proposed HVDC ‘macrogrid’ to transmit low-cost, renewable power in US

A grid-modeling company has proposed an underground high-voltage DC transmission overlay for the continental United States. It could potentially help to reduce climate pollutants and electricity costs, in addition to facilitating solar and wind deployment.

www.pv-magazine.com

 

[mspohr]

Inside the Saudi Strategy to Keep the World Hooked on Oil https://nyti.ms/3TS04AP

In recent days, Saudi representatives pushed at the United Nations global climate summit in Egypt to block a call for the world to burn less oil, according to two people present at the meeting, saying that the summit’s final statement “should not mention fossil fuels.” The effort prevailed: After objections from Saudi Arabia and a few other oil producers, the statement failed to include a call for nations to phase out fossil fuels.

Saudi Aramco has become a prolific funder of research into critical energy issues, financing almost 500 studies over the past five years, including research aimed at keeping gasoline cars competitive or casting doubt on electric vehicles, according to the Crossref database, which tracks academic publications. Aramco has collaborated with the United States Department of Energy on high-profile research projects including a six-year effort to develop more efficient gasoline and engines, as well as studies on enhanced oil recovery and other methods to bolster oil production.

 

[mspohr]

Soaring West Virginia Electricity Prices Trigger Standoff Over the State's Devotion to Coal Power - Inside Climate News

West Virginia is a standout in its allegiance to coal power. In the United States as a whole, coal’s share of the electricity mix has fallen from around half in 2005 to just 22 percent as the nation has turned to cheaper natural gas and increasingly, renewable energy. By contrast, West Virginia...

insideclimatenews.org

InsideClimate News: Soaring West Virginia Electricity Prices Trigger Standoff Over the State's Devotion to Coal Power. Soaring West Virginia Electricity Prices Trigger Standoff Over the State's Devotion to Coal Power - Inside Climate News

In the United States as a whole, coal’s share of the electricity mix has fallen from around half in 2005 to just 22 percent as the nation has turned to cheaper natural gas and increasingly, renewable energy. By contrast, West Virginia generated 91 percent of its power from coal in 2021—with no other state even coming close. While uneconomic coal plants across the nation were being shut down, West Virginia even approved a transfer of responsibility for several major coal plants from corporate shareholders to the state’s ratepayers. Critics of West Virginia’s pro-coal policies say the results are now evident in the state’s skyrocketing utility bills. Household customers of one of the state’s largest utilities, American Electric Power (AEP), have seen their electricity rates rise 180 percent in the past 15 years, five times the average increase for ratepayers in the United States

 

[DrGriz]

Probably hasn't quite hit them yet and they are still in denial.

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

Soaring West Virginia Electricity Prices Trigger Standoff Over the State's Devotion to Coal Power - Inside Climate News

West Virginia is a standout in its allegiance to coal power. In the United States as a whole, coal’s share of the electricity mix has fallen from around half in 2005 to just 22 percent as the nation has turned to cheaper natural gas and increasingly, renewable energy. By contrast, West Virginia...

insideclimatenews.org

InsideClimate News: Soaring West Virginia Electricity Prices Trigger Standoff Over the State's Devotion to Coal Power. Soaring West Virginia Electricity Prices Trigger Standoff Over the State's Devotion to Coal Power - Inside Climate News

In the United States as a whole, coal’s share of the electricity mix has fallen from around half in 2005 to just 22 percent as the nation has turned to cheaper natural gas and increasingly, renewable energy. By contrast, West Virginia generated 91 percent of its power from coal in 2021—with no other state even coming close. While uneconomic coal plants across the nation were being shut down, West Virginia even approved a transfer of responsibility for several major coal plants from corporate shareholders to the state’s ratepayers. Critics of West Virginia’s pro-coal policies say the results are now evident in the state’s skyrocketing utility bills. Household customers of one of the state’s largest utilities, American Electric Power (AEP), have seen their electricity rates rise 180 percent in the past 15 years, five times the average increase for ratepayers in the United States

Didn't someone advocate for the nationalizing of fossil fuel companies? This is just more evidence for why it's a terrible idea. We don't need to socialize their losses, nor give their investors a profitable exit.

 

[mspohr]

 

[eevee-fan]

Researchers develop earth-abundant photocatalyst for conversion of ammonia into hydrogen

Using only inexpensive earth-abundant raw materials, a team from Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc. and Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment have created a scalable photocatalyst that can convert ammonia into hydrogen fuel. The research...

www.greencarcongress.com

So pee as a resource?