South Australia aims for 500% renewables by 2050 and for all new cars to be electric by 2035

 

(Source bbc.com)

The South Australian (SA) government aims for more than 500 per cent renewable energy by 2050 as it aims to become a clean energy exporter both nationally and internationally. Almost under the same breath, the government also announced that it aims to ensure that all new car sales will be electric by 2035 as it wants to be a leader in the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia.

SA already has its electricity grid at 60% renewables and plans to expand that to at least 500 per cent. The government has a Climate Change Action Plan which includes at least 68 proposed activities for more renewables, clean transport and more resilient urban and rural communities. The state has an abundance of solar, wind and other resources. The green hydrogen industry is well on its way in Australia and SA plans to become a major exporter of green hydrogen and other low emission products.

The state Liberal government has also released its plan for electric vehicles (EVs). Firstly it will electrify all government fleets, taxis and ride sharing vehicles by 2030. By 2030, they want electric cars to be mainstream and for all new cars sold to be electric by 2035. There will also be fuel efficiency and quality standards introduced which will help EV uptake but there is also a plan to put a road user tax on EVs which will be a disincentive but will help fund the changes.

Read More: 

- South Australia aims for more than 500 pct renewables in new climate plan. RenewEconomy, December 16, 2020. 

- "Biggest change since Model T": South Australia wants all new car sales to be electric by 2035. The Driven, December 20, 2020.

Woolworths joins Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) and AGL joined EV100

Source: 'Solar Quotes' for Woolworths

 A growing number of companies worldwide are committing to 100 percent renewable energy by joining the RE100 membership list. Similarly, companies are joining the EV100 membership list when they commit to zero emissions transport by a certain date.

The Australian supermarket chain, Woolworths, has just joined RE100 by committing to 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. They will do this by adding solar panels to their buildings and by buying Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) possibly from solar farms, wind farms or stored renewable electricity. In doing this, they will reduce their greenhouse emissions and save on electricity costs. 

To date, there are 268 members of RE100 worldwide with 14 members from Australia. The Australian membership includes: Westpac, Suncorp, QBE, NAB, Mirvac, Macquarie, Interactive, Dexus, Commonwealth Bank, BINGO Industries, Bank Australia, Atlassian, ANZ, and Woolworths. 70 international companies operating within Australia are also members such as Apple, Facebook and Google.

The number of international companies that pledge to having fleets of zero emission vehicles is at 92 to date. Of those we have one that is Australian and that is AGL Energy which is to transition its fleet of over 400 vehicles to EVs by 2030.

References: 

- RE100 members: https://www.there100.org/re100-members  

- EV100 members: https://www.theclimategroup.org/ev100-members

A new way to have windows as see-through solar panels

 

See-through solar glass (Source: UbiQD)

UbiQD, a materials manufacturer in the US, developed a layer of nanoparticles glued between two layers of glass that can collect solar energy. The combination is transparent with a slight tint that can be brown, blue or greyish. It is difficult to distinguish these windows from traditional ones as seen in the image above. The innovation will help to collect solar energy in cities where rooftops are limited.

Two glass panels are glued together with a thin polymer which contains the nanoparticles known as quantum dots. These quantum dots are tiny semiconductors that manipulate light. They are non-toxic and relatively cheap to produce.

When exposed to UV light, the quantum dots are excited and release photons that travel to the edges of the window panel. The perimeter is fitted with solar cells which convert the photons into electrical current. These solar cells are within the window frame and therefore out of sight.

The efficiency of the most transparent windows is 3.6 percent. This may seem low but there are many windows on a skyscraper! However, windows can be custom-made to produce more power but transparency is reduced in a linear relationship. Windows of one square metre are soon to be tested in buildings in the US and the Netherlands.

References: 

- Nanoparticles turn windows into see-through solar panels. New Scientist, September 12, 2020, page 15. 

- Windows become transparent solar panels with added nanoparticles. UbiQD, September 7, 2020. 

- Journal reference: ACS Applied energy materials: DOI:10.1021/acsaem.Oc01288.

ACT electricity prices to drop after going 100% renewable

Majura Solar Farm, Canberra. (Photo Julie May)

 ACT (Australian Capital Territory) households are set to enjoy an average 2.56 per cent drop in electricity prices from 1 July, after Canberra succeeded in reaching its 100 per cent renewable electricity target.

 

The territory has had a reduction in the wholesale electricity prices due to a 100 per cent transition to renewable electricity and the falling costs of renewable energy certificates. This will be passed onto the consumers with a reduction in their electricity prices.

 

The ACT officially received its transition to 100 percent renewable electricity in October 2019.  The price reduction will save the average household $43 on their electricity bills in a year.

 

Read more: ACT electricity prices to drop after reaching 100% renewable target. RenewEconomy, June 9, 2020.

A trial to test "green methane" as a replacement for mains gas

Concept art for a renewable gas plant near Roma, Qld. (ABC News)

The Australian Federal Government will fund a trial of renewable methane production in Roma, Queensland. Natural gas, which is currently used for mains gas, is mostly methane. The process is to be powered by solar energy. 

Australian gas producer APA Group will develop a $2.2 million renewable methane demonstration project at the company’s Wallumbilla Gas hub near Roma in Queensland. Funds and collaboration will also come from ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) and Southern Green Gas, respectively. 

The plan is to use solar PV to power the conversion of water into hydrogen using an anion exchange membrane electrolyser. Then the hydrogen would be converted into methane (CH₄) through a process that combines hydrogen (H₂) with carbon dioxide (CO₂). 

If successful, the project will be converted into a larger commercial-grade plant to provide emissions-free methane for mains gas and possibly for export. 

Read more: 

- Trial to explore “green methane” as replacement for mains gas. RenewEconomy, May 8, 2020. 

- “Coffee-table”-sized units to power new gas plant near Roma. ABC News, May 8, 2020.

Austria and Sweden are free of coal-fired power plants

Source: RenewEconomy

In April this year, Austria and then Sweden closed down their last coal-fired power plants. Sweden reached the target two years earlier than planned. They are the second and third countries to go coal-free in Europe, Belgium did so in 2016. 

Six more European countries are expected to follow suit by 2025 or earlier. They are France in 2022; Slovakia and Portugal in 2023; the UK in 2024 and Ireland and Italy in 2025. Five more countries are scheduled to join them by 2030, which is the necessary date for Europe to meets its UN Paris agreement. They are Greece in 2028; the Netherlands and Finland in 2029 and Hungary and Denmark in 2030. Discussions are underway for other European countries to join them. 

Read more: 
- Sweden exits coal two years ahead of schedule, Austria closes last coal plant. RenewEconomy, April 24, 2020. 
- Sweden follows hot on Austria’s heels to go coal free. Europe Beyond Coal, April 21, 2020. 
- Austria ends coal era and commits to more renewable energy. Bloomberg, April 17, 2020.
- Belgium says goodbye to coal power use. Climate Action Network Europe, April 6, 2016.

Can “solar hydro" replace coal and gas-fired power stations?

Organic Rankine Cycle (Source: Applied Sciences, 9 (1) 49, 2019)

RayGen, with the support of AREA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) and in collaboration with other companies, is on-track to test a 50MWh “solar hydro” project in NW Victoria. The plan is to eventually develop a 200MW solar power plant with around 100MW/1000MWh storage. This is enough to help replace retiring coal and gas fired power stations.

The plant will consist of mechanical mirrors on the ground concentrating sunlight and heat to RayGen’s efficient collector on a raised tower. The collector consists of mirrors and super-efficient PV modules which can collect both light and heat. The specialist panels convert about 30 per cent of the sunlight to electricity and capture around 60 percent of the excess heat. 

The heat is stored as hot (92^°C) water in one reservoir while the electricity is used to chill water to 2^°C, which is stored in a cold reservoir. Between the two tanks is the Organic Rankine Cycle system (see above diagram), which has a special organic fluid circling within it. At the evaporator, the fluid is heated to a gas by the stored hot water which then drives a turbine to generate electricity. The organic gas then passes to the condenser where it is cooled back to a liquid by the stored cold water. 

With the organic fluid coming to boil at a lower temperature than water, it means that the system has a high efficiency. Since the water temperature differences are stored like a battery in the reservoirs, the system can generate electricity when required. “The temperature difference of about 90^°C has a similar energy storage capacity as pumped hydro with a height of 1000 metres – so really, really big pumped hydro.” says RayGen’s Will Mosley. “RayGen is able to deliver the economics of pumped hydro and the flexibility of batteries.” (RenewEconomy) 

Read more: 
- RayGen edges closer to “solar hydro” success with new strategic partnerships. RenewEconomy, April 16, 2020. 
- World-leading solar technology born in Melbourne, that’s ultra-cool. ARENAWire, September 28, 2017. 
- Solar power plant phase 1. ARENA, January 2020. 
- Renewable energy storage, solar power technology. RayGen

Renewable fuels from direct air capture could soon compete with petrol, diesel, jet fuel

Source: RenewEconomy

It may soon be possible to produced zero-emission petrol (gasoline), diesel and jet fuel from the direct air capture of CO2 and water vapour in a way that will compete with fossil fuels in price. A Silicon Valley company called Prometheus led by Rob McGinnis is aiming to do this. The process has been presented recently in the journal Joule. 

Although the science of making fuels from CO2 and water has been known for some time it has been far too expensive. The Prometheus process has CO2 and water in an aqueous electrolyte which is reacted with a copper catalyst to directly make alcohols such as ethanol, butanol, propanol, etc. with the power coming from wind and/or solar electricity. Originally, the alcohols would be extracted via distillation, which is expensive, but Prometheus has invented a carbon nanotube membrane that can do this economically. (Launch HN, 2019). 

This fuel can be used with existing infrastructure for cars, trucks, ships and aeroplanes, so can be employed quickly. It is not seen as a replacement of electric or hydrogen transport but as an addition to help speed up the transition to clean transport, particularly for heavy transport. Once the green fuel is cost competitive there is still one main drawback and that is that huge amounts of renewable electricity will be required. But one advantage is that the process can be stopped and started easily to fit in with the fluctuations in electricity supplies and costs (i.e. it would be another way to store excess renewable energy). 

References: 

- Prometheus: https://www.prometheusfuels.com/ 

- Remove CO₂ from air and turn it into gasoline. Launch HN: Prometheus (YC W19). 

- Renewable fuels could soon be cost competitive with petrol, gasoline, RenewEconomy, March 19, 2020. 

- CO₂-to-fuels: renewable gasoline and jet fuel can soon be price competitive with fossils fuels, Joule, Commentary, Vol. 4, Iss. 3, pp 509-511, March 18, 2020.

South Australia now has 3 big batteries and they made $1 million over two days!

Source: RenewEconomy

The Lake Bonney big battery (20MW/52MWh) in South Australia is now in full production. It combined with the two other big batteries: Hornsdale Power Reserve (100MW/129MWh) and Dalrymple North battery (30MW/8MWh) to jointly make A$1million over two days. This occurred on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 December 2019 when Australia was experiencing the three hottest days ever recorded on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of that week.

The Lake Bonney battery started full production in late November and was therefore ready to support to the eastern Australian grid. During this very hot week, electricity demand was great and consequently the prices went very high. This high pricing also coincided with low electricity generation from wind and solar. As a result, expensive gas and diesel generators were needed to meet demand. Being both dispatchable and fast responding, batteries were well placed to take advantage of this volatility in pricing.

South Australia aims to have net 100% renewable electricity by 2030 so large batteries are seen as a move towards this. Therefore “a fourth battery in South Australia, a 10MW/10MWh battery installation at  Lincoln Gap wind farm is set to join the grid in the new year, while  Sanjeev Gupta’s Simec Zen Energy plans a bigger 135MW battery at Port Augusta and Tilt Renewables is also considering a 20MW/40MWh battery at its Snowtown wind park.” (RenewEconomy).

Read more:
- Infigen says Lake Bonney battery now in full production. RenewEconomy, December 12, 2019.
- South Australia big batteries earn $1 million over two days. RenewEconomy, January 15, 2020.
- Tesla big battery delivered a $22 million profit in 2018. RenewEconomy, May 14 2019.

Alternative green electricity storage options being considered in the USA

Source: What's next in long-term energy storage, Vox.

Lithium-ion batteries are not the only way to store renewable electricity. The US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA-E) is funding research by 10 organisations to create long-term energy storage systems that cost US$0.05 per kilowatt hour or less.

It is called the DAYS (Duration Addition to electricitY Storage) Program. The DAYS Projects fall into two categories: 1. Systems that provide daily cycling in addition to longer duration, less frequent cycling 2. Systems that do not provide daily cycling, but can take over when daily cycling resources are either filled or depleted.

A list of DAYS Projects is provided here but please refer to the links below for more information.
- 1. Sulphur Flow Batteries.
- 2. Innovative electrolyzer/fuel cell combination using hydrogen peroxide for storage instead of hydrogen.
- 3. Zinc-bromine flow batteries.
- 4. Thermovoltaics. Using PV panels to make electricity to heat carbon blocks.
- 5. Electricity to magnesium manganese oxide.
- 6. Pressurising water underground.
- 7. Liquid Air Energy Storage.
- 8 to 10. Three other electricity to heat programs aim to raise the efficiency of storing electricity as heat then using it to heat a gas to drive turbines. (DAYS Project Descriptions, ARPA-E).

Further reading:
- Department of Energy announces new projects to extend grid energy storage. APRA-E, September 18, 2018.
- APRA-E: Duration Addition to electricitY Storage (DAYS): Project Descriptions (pdf)
- Energy Storage 2020: It’s not just about lithium-ion batteries any more. CleanTechnica, January 5, 2020.
- U.S. research teams aim for long-duration storage at $0.05/kWh. PV Magazine International. December 30, 2019.

ACT’s first electric bus starts service - the aim is zero transport emissions

The ACT government's first electric bus (Source Twitter)

On its way to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, Canberra’s local government purchased its first electric bus which started operation this week. CanberraTransport runs the bus fleet and it plans to have 100% zero emission vehicles (including light rail) by 2040.

In October 2019, the ACT achieved its goal of 100% renewable electricity target by 2020 (three months early) with the start of deliveries of power from the Hornsdale Stage 3 109MW wind farm in South Australia. So with the grid having 100% renewable electricity, the bus is greenhouse gas emissions free.

It is now looking to reduce the next largest source of carbon emissions, transport, which now makes up 60% of the ACT’s emissions thanks to the decarbonisation of the ACT grid, as part of a wider plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2045. Therefore many more electric buses will joint the fleet.

The bus is a Yutong Electric E12, which is a more modern electric bus than those previously trialled in 2017 and has already proved successful in other jurisdictions. It has an approximate 400km driving range before needing to recharge at the Tuggeranong Depot.

Read more:
- ACT introduces first electric bus on path to zero transport emissions. The Driven, November 12, 2019.
See also:
- NSW unveils plan to switch Sydney’s 8,000 buses to all electric. The Driven, October 28, 2019.
- Victorian-made electric buses ready to run. Manufacturers’ Monthly, October 30, 2019.

Canberra (ACT) reaches its 100% renewable electricity target

Wind farm near Lake George, NSW, part owned by ACT (photo: Julie May)

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government in Canberra reached its 100 percent renewable electricity target on October 1, 2019, when it started purchasing the electricity produced by the Hornsdale Stage 3 wind farm in South Australia.

Canberra has a range of renewable energy sources which it obtained through reverse auction processes. It includes wind farms in NSW, Victoria and South Australia as well as four solar farms within and near the Territory.

The ACT has become the first Australian state or territory – with the exception of hydro-rich Tasmania – to receive all its electricity from renewable sources. This means it has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by around 40 per cent and given a boost to its economy.

Being a leader in the transition to renewables and a university city, Canberra has attracted many renewable and software technology businesses such as the leading French renewable energy producer Neoen which has established a number of power plants in Australia including the Hornsdale wind farm with the Tesla big battery.

The ACT government now has a goal of reaching zero net emissions by 2045. So it is turning its attention to other emission sources: it plans to go electric on transport and on buildings, which means a proposal to shift homes and businesses away from gas towards electricity. With more electricity required, and to service a growing population, the ACT is about to tender for another 250MW of wind and solar, including battery storage.

Read more: Canberra’s green machines: ACT reaches 100% renewable electricity target. RenewEconomy, October 1, 2019.