"Steel production generates almost 10 percent of global carbon emissions and has long been considered 'hard to abate'. Enter Boston Metal, a startup that aims to make carbon-free steel using only (sing it with me!) clean electricity. In this episode, CEO Tadeu Carneiro explains 'molten oxide electrolysis' and its potential to transform the industry."
#ClimateChange#Renewables#FossilFuels#RenewableEnergy: "Countries' climate plans are not yet in line with a goal to triple renewable energy capacity worldwide by 2030 which was set at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai last year, a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.
The target would involve increasing installed renewable energy capacity to at least 11,000 gigawatts (GW) by the end of the decade, compared to 4,209 GW in 2023.
Very few countries - just 14 out of a total of 194 - have included specific targets for total renewable power capacity for 2030 in their commitments under the Paris Agreement climate pact, called nationally determined contributions (NDCS).
Official commitments in current NDCs amount to 1,300 GW – just 12% of what is required to meet the global tripling objective set in Dubai, the IEA said."
For example, we don’t build additional highway lanes to accommodate traffic for the busiest hour on an Easter weekend.
Coal generators prefer to continue to generate, even at negative prices, rather than completely shut down [which is even more costly. So] renewable energy is spilled, rather than coal shutdown. We actually have a glut of coal, rather than renewables."
The chart in this article illustrates the "bang for buck" for electricity generation options. Unsurprisingly, renewables come out ahead, fossil fuels come in the middle, and nuclear is the worst. Don't take my word for it; this comes from scientists who've been working on it for decades at the CSIRO. Another takeaway: don't take Peter Dutton's word for it, either.
Mass adoption of clean energy requires massive energy storage, and we’re getting closer! 👇🏼
Thanks to a MIT spin-off company, we have thermal ceramic bricks capable of storing heat for DAYS 👀.
These ceramic bricks can store heat — at temperatures up to 1800 degrees Celsius — for DAYS that can then be used to convert the energy back to electricity when needed.
I am baffled that people actually still believe buying an EV will not have an immediate positive impact on their family's monthly budget. And yes, I know the initial cost is out of many people's range, but I also know for a great many, it is in their range. So lets talk operating cost:
Case in point: Our EV is at the doctor getting rear end surgery (due to no fault of ours or its, insurance covered, yay).
We received a courtesy car we nicknamed "The Beast". It's a Dodge Journey. I figure one trip to work and back (160km) would probably cost $50. I was forced to use it today so I took the time-hit and drove it to the Transit park-and-ride 35km away
instead.
It means leaving 15min early and getting home 45min later. But that's another topic...
What taking the bus does do immediately is saves me more than half the cost of fuel for The Beast.
A full 160km roundtrip in the EV is about $5 worth of electricity. $50 vs $5.
Fossil fuels? In this economy?
P.S. Oh ya, and you want to talk "range anxiety"? Not only is The Beast only good for around 200km on $50 of gas... that's almost half a tank! Which is not farm from the EV on "range". Sorry, I'll take the EV "anxiety" any day of the week!
'Closing in on the theoretical maximum efficiency, devices for turning heat into electricity are edging closer to being practical for use on the grid, according to University of Michigan research.
Heat batteries could store intermittent renewable energy during peak production hours, relying on a thermal version of solar cells to convert it into electricity later.'
Unsurprisingly, the Government doesn’t like to draw attention to the fact that since the 2022 election:
It has approved four new coal projects.
It has approved the drilling of 116 new coal seam gas wells.
It has sat in court with coal companies and defended its right not to consider the climate impact of opening new fossil fuel projects.
The Government has passed legislation at the request of gas companies specifically designed to expedite their expansion. This is not hyperbole. The transcripts and documents are there in black and white.
The Government has stacked the agencies legislated to oversee and shape Australia’s climate policies — including the Net Zero Authority and the National Reconstruction Fund — with industry interests and surrounded them with a fortress-like bureaucracy, impervious to public scrutiny. It has left a former gas executive in charge of the Climate Change Authority.
The Prime Minister and various ministers have flown to India, Japan, Korea, and (just this month) Vietnam to lock in customers for our gas and coal. The media releases never mention that either. Australia is one of the world’s largest fossil fuel exporters, and the Government is subsidising, legislating, and using the full weight of our foreign policy to ensure we stay that way. Because Governments are very effective at making very big things happen very quickly when they want to.
The Australian Government has lobbied UNESCO to stop the Great Barrier Reef from being listed as “in danger”. This is as it is in the grip of another mass coral bleaching event.
The Australian Government has refused to end native forest logging. Despite the carbon it would store and the very real risk of extinction to the koala and the swift parrot. It has left the protection of our collapsing ecosystems to the market. It has put far more energy into talking about being ‘nature positive’ than doing anything about it.
The federal Labor government alone still gives over $9 billion in subsidies to fossil fuels. It has committed $1.5 billion to a gas export hub in the Northern Territory. One single gas export hub is getting half of what Australia has committed to global climate finance over five years.
Peter Dutton has realised nobody is falling for his hype about Small Nuclear Reactors, so he's pivoted to large scale nuclear reactors.
The CSIRO has conclusively shown nuclear power is a dead-end technology — not fit for purpose in Australia — we need to accelerate our work with renewable energy such as wind and solar, and build more battery storage.
To make green steel a reality, and decarbonize the steel sector, the U.S. steel industry will need to significantly increase its #renewableenergy capacity. https://buff.ly/3VaAyKU
"While belief in #ClimateChange has waned a bit nationally, 90% of Floridians still believe it’s real, according to a recent survey by #Florida Atlantic University.
Most Floridians — nearly 70% — want both the state and federal governments to do more to address climate change, the study found."
"Carrying out a controversial law signed by DeSantis, officials have started moving to repeal [#Florida's] #RenewableEnergy goals.
The goals call for utilities to gradually increase the amount of renewable energy that they produce or buy until reaching 100% renewable energy in 2050.
But a proposal published Wednesday would repeal a rule that includes the goals, saying it is "no longer necessary.""