"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.
"Sir Keir has resisted calls from trade unions and many on the left of his party to nationalise the energy industry to help keep soaring bills down, arguing instead for an extension of the windfall tax on their profits."
We're going to have to work hard to get a public consensus in favour of forcing investors to sell infrastructure into public ownership (back into it in many cases). But having a windfall tax, let alone extending it, is a good start.
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!
@cferdinandi@josie_osborne of course a fully paid off car not ready for replacement would be. As I said in my opening, I acknowledge not everyone can afford that bracket of ICE or EV right now but many many people can. As a family of four in 2019 we made that choice and I can say 100% that it was the better financial decision.
@chris@josie_osborne I get what you're saying, but the cost of the car is 100% part of that cost/benefit equation. You can't just ignore the cost of the car and say it saves you money. That's not how money works.
'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.'