WA gold mine turns to a solar/battery/gas hybrid system

Granny Smith mine (Source: One Step off the Grid)

The remote Granny Smith gold mine in Western Australia is turning to a 7.3 MW solar system and a 2MW/1MWh battery storage installation, as it seeks to reduce its dependence on expensive gas power after its old diesel power station was shut down.

A new natural gas facility has replaced the diesel power station but the energy costs are high. The solar system and battery storage will form a hybrid system with the gas plant. This will both reduce energy costs and further reduce the mine’s carbon footprint.

References:
Granny Smith gold mine turns to solar, battery hybrid system. One Step off the Grid, June 27, 2018.
Aggreko targets renewable energy and battery storage at Gold Fields’ Granny Smith mine. Aggreko, June 4, 2018.

Copenhagen's bicycle culture

Bicycles crossing in the early morning at one traffic light change. Such traffic crossed time after time.

With the import tax on cars being from 100-180% in Denmark, car ownership is low and bicycle use is high. It is such that in Copenhagen there are more bicycles than people. Thus cycling is the most popular means of transport with 1.2 million kilometres covered daily by cyclists in the city, where cycle tracks are an integrated part of the traffic design (see below).

When talking to one enthusiastic rider, she said she was proud of the fact that she has ridden to work everyday, including winter, for the last two years without resorting to using The Metro. Below are some recent photographs of cycling in Copenhagen.

Bikes in Copenhagen (photos by Julie May)

Left: Footpaths and bike lanes are wide. Right: Road lanes L to R: pedestrians, bikes, vehicles, vehicles, bikes, pedestrians (J May)

Left: Small traffic lights for bikes. Right: RH turning lane for bikes and riders use hand signals. (J May)

See also in this blog:
Berlin’s e-cargo bike subsidy exhausted in one day.
Electric car-sharing in Copenhagen.

How the Netherlands feeds the world

A sea of glasshouses in the Westlands region of the Netherlands (source National Geographic)

The Dutch have become world leaders in agricultural innovation, pioneering new paths to fight hunger. More than half the small nation’s landmass is used for agriculture and horticulture. The farmland consists of small, intensely cultivated fields and expanses of large greenhouse complexes.

These climate-controlled glasshouses produce fair-weather fruit and vegetables all year round with high yields per acre. The Dutch are the world’s top exporter of potatoes and onions and the second largest exporter of vegetables overall in terms of value.

The brains trust behind these astounding numbers is centred at Wageningen University & Research, which is widely regarded as the world’s top agricultural research institution. Trials are carried out in order to attain the best growing conditions. In addition, these controlled environments have few harmful pests and diseases such that the use of chemicals is reduced by 87 percent.

Reference: This tiny country feeds the world. National Geographic, September, 2017.

Some current electric vehicle (EV) buying incentives in Australia

Source: ANZ Energy Efficient Asset Finance

Currently there are few incentives to buy EVs in Australia. With the country's fuel security very limited and transport emissions quite high, there is a need to provide more incentives to buy EVs. The following initiatives are small but are a start.

1. AGL has an Electric Car Plan which offers owners of electric cars unlimited charging for just $1 a day plus other incentives.

2. The ANZ bank has Energy Efficient Asset Finance which offers an additional 0.7% discount on the standard asset finance rate for eligible energy efficient assets including electric vehicles.

3. In the ACT, the government policy now is that EVs don’t incur stamp duty and receive a 20% discount on annual registration fees. More incentives will come as the government implements its Zero Emission Vehicle Action Plan (pdf).

4. The NRMA is installing a large network of EV fast-charging infrastructure over 95% of its members’ road trips in NSW.

5. Tesla owners roll out Australia-wide charging network for all EVs. RenewEconomy, June 4 2018.

Left: EV charging before March 2016 and now, June 2018, right (RenewEconomy)

6. At least 10 brands of auto makers will launch electric cars in Australia over the next two years.

See also in this blog: Phase 1 of Queensland’s fast-charging EV network is complete.

London to have 300 EVs for car-sharing

Zipcar's all electric e-Golf car-share (source: airqualitynews.com)

The car-sharing business, Zipcar, is to roll out over 300 Volkswagen e-Golf electric cars to its London fleet from July 2018. To achieve healthier, cleaner streets, as set out in the Mayor of London’s latest Transport Strategy, this change away from car ownership towards electric car access is essential.

Car sharing networks such as Zipcar see members pay an annual or monthly fee which allows them to hire a car on a short term basis, often for as little as one hour, which can be picked up from designated parking spots.

Choice, an Australian magazine, estimates that car-sharing becomes cost effective if you drive 5000 kilometres or less per year. Thus some people living in city centres or who drive less are considering car sharing rather than car ownership.

Choice says that studies show:
- for each shared car on the road, anywhere from four to 13 cars are taken off the road,
- car-sharing has been shown to reduce traffic and parking congestion,
- car-sharing reduces the number of kilometres travelled,
- car-sharing increases the use of public transport, cycling, and walking.

References:
Zipcar to roll-out 300 EVs across London. AirQualityNews.com, May 30, 2018.
What changed in the electric vehicle industry in May? CleanTechnica, June 11, 2018.
Car share services: should you jump on the car-sharing bandwagon? Choice, April 21, 2015.
See also in this blog:
Electric car-sharing in Copenhagen.

Paper straws in the UK: we can turn back the clock!

Black and white paper straw (Julie May)

The rejection of some plastics is happening quickly with single-use plastic items being banned in many places. In the UK recently, I found two examples of paper straws being used instead of plastic ones.

The black and white paper straw, above, comes from the cafe at the Tate Modern in London. It seems that some, if not all, UK National Trust cafes also use paper straws.

It was pleasing to see this sustainable and biodegradable product return. It takes me back some years when these straws were once common.

Solar farms with wildflowers return habitats for bees

Wildflowers with solar panels, UK. (source: Solarcentury)

With bees and other pollinators under threat from habitat removal and pesticides, adding wildflowers to land containing solar panels will add valuable ecosystem services to the environment.

Wildflowers, including short native grasses, could be sown mechanically using a native seed mix. Such a plantation will need much less mowing than grassland and will provide habitat for bees, insects, birds and other native animals.

Value could also be added to such a solar farm by lightly grazing sheep in autumn and winter. By taking such holistic measures, we can avoid the criticism that solar farms use up valuable arable farmland.

References:
- Solar arrays abuzz thanks to new pollinator-friendly vegetation initiative. Solar Power World, May 2017.
- Solarcentury set to build holistic solar farm. CleanTechnica, October 17, 2014.
- Solar power is playing a growing role to save the bees. CleanTechnica, August 12, 2019.