Thread: Fossil Fuel Alternatives

Solar Startup Born in a Garage Is Beating China to Cheaper Panels

About seven years ago, Vince Allen barged into the garage he shared with some flatmates in a Sydney suburb and set about trying to shake up the solar industry. He was at the time a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales, and he had an idea for making solar panels much cheaper: replace the expensive silver typically used to pull electricity out of the devices with plentiful, cheap copper.

Labs and well-funded giants had already struggled with this same attempt to ditch silver. Allen remained undeterred and built his own equipment to test one idea after another at a quick clip, until he found a technique that worked. SunDrive Solar, the company he co-founded in 2015 based on this research, proved this week that it has produced one of the most efficient solar cells of all time, according to a leading independent testing laboratory. And SunDrive did so with copper as the metal at the core.

If SunDrive can mass produce its technology — and that’s a big if — the Australian startup could reduce the cost of solar panels and make the industry far less dependent on silver. “The thing about copper is that it’s very abundant and usually about 100 times cheaper than silver,” said Allen, now 32.

SunDrive has raised about $7.5 million to date from Blackbird Ventures and other big-name investors. Mike Cannon-Brookes, one of Australia’s wealthiest people, has backed the startup through his Grok Ventures; so has former Suntech Power Holdings Co. chief Shi Zhengrong, sometimes called the “Sun King” for his outsized role in the solar-panel industry. The company also received more than $2 million via a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, a government body tasked with boosting green technology.

About 95% of solar panels are constructed out of photovoltaic cells made from wafers of silicon. To pull electrical current from the cells, you typically need to fuse them with metal contacts. Silver has long been the metal of choice because it’s easy to work with and very stable. Solar-panel manufacturers rely on a screen printing process similar to that used to place designs on T-shirts, pushing a thick silver paste through a mesh and onto their silicon cells in a fixed pattern. If you’ve ever seen a solar cell up close, the faint, thin lines running across it are the metal electrodes.

Solar panel makers now consume as much as 20% the world’s industrial silver each year. When silver prices are high, the metal alone can account for 15% of a solar cell’s price. Even after a big rally this year, copper trades for a little more than $9,000 a ton in London. That same amount of silver would cost nearly $770,000. The solar industry will need more and more silver as it continues to boom and, at some point, SunDrive's backers believe, it’s likely demand for the metal will constrain the spread of solar electricity needed to bring down greenhouse gas emissions.

The issue preventing solar-panel manufacturers from ditching silver has been that copper doesn’t lend itself to the standard manufacturing techniques, in part because it doesn’t stick well to solar cells. Copper also oxidizes more easily, which impacts its ability to conduct current.

The University of New South Wales has a long history of solar technology breakthroughs, and Allen zeroed in on this copper conundrum as the heart of his graduate studies. Instead of working at the school’s labs, however, Allen thought he could conduct experiments more quickly by building an R&D setup in a garage. He spent a couple years assembling machines that held a liquid copper concoction of his own creation and that could deposit the slurry onto a solar cell in a controlled fashion.

“I always wanted to follow my own curiosity and try out a bunch of random, crazy ideas,” Allen said. “It required some discretion since there were neighbors, and I was walking around in a lab coat with all these chemicals.”

It took hundreds of experiments, but he eventually developed technology that makes it possible to securely adhere thin lines of copper on solar cells. He started SunDrive with his former flatmate, David Hu, 33, in a bid to commercialize the technology. The company now has about a dozen employees. Hu, who grew up in China and moved to Australia at 16, handles the business affairs, while Allen sticks to the science.

Just this week SunDrive received official word that it had set a record for the efficiency at which its particular design of solar cells convert light to electricity. The result came from analysis by the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH), a German organization known for conducing such tests. The efficiency figure — 25.54% — will mean little to people outside of the solar industry. But it’s is one of the key metics by which cells are compared.

Large Chinese solar cell makers have topped the efficiency records for years. Longi Green Energy Technology Co., which sold $8.4 billion of solar technology last year and is one of the world’s biggest manufacturers, held the previous top mark of 25.26%.

Startups in this part of the solar market are rare because of the daunting prospect of competing against giant companies that produce solar cells by the millions at large, expensive factories. Chinese companies dominate, with collective control of the majority of global capacity for the supply chain. “The capital required to a start a new company is huge, and even then it’s not a terribly profitable business,” said

Zachary Holman, a professor who studies solar materials at Arizona State University. Still, he said, there are a handful of companies like SunDrive that are aiming for technical breakthroughs that might give them a shot. SunDrive “would need something new like that in order to compete.”

The next step for SunDrive will be proving it can mass produce solar cells reliably and cheaply. “What they have shown so far is high performance on one cell,” Holman said. “They did not show 10,000 high performance cells coming off a several-hour manufacturing run.”

Allen and Hu said they’ve yet to decide on the exact path they will take moving forward. It’s likely that they will try to form a partnership with one or more of the large manufacturers rather than attempting to build an entire solar panel business from scratch. “We might purchase partially complete solar cells and then finish them with our copper process,” Hu said.

Shi, the SunDrive investor nicknamed “Sun King,” said it will be hard to find enough affordable silver if the solar business grows as predicted. Over the next decade, he expects to see manufacturers move to a 50-50 split between silver and copper in the solar cells. “The shift to copper is something that we’ve long desired but has been very hard to do,” he said.

He recalled visiting Allen at his homemade lab and being surprised by what the PhD student had accomplished. “He had all these simple tools and things he’d bought off Amazon,” Shi said. “Innovation really is related to the individual and sometimes the right moment, and not to being at a big company with lots of resources.”: SunDrive Solar

• Colorado looks to be ahead of Biden’s called-for pace on renewable energy

Colorado is ahead of several states and the U.S. when it comes to renewable energy sources, with about two-thirds predicted to come from wind and solar by 2030. Energy experts say the speed at which the state can build out its renewable energy portfolio depends on the cost of building and maintaining those power sources.

President Joe Biden’s administration said 40% of the country’s electricity could come from solar power within the next 15 years, based on a recent report it issued. When Biden visits the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Arvada campus on Tuesday, he’s expected to speak about investing billions in combating climate change as part of his Build Back Better agenda.

While Colorado likely won’t hit the federal 40% solar mark — even by 2050 — it will almost certainly surpass a 40% renewables mark by the end of the decade, according to Noah Long, who is the western region director for the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council’s Climate and Energy Program.

“By 2030, I think you’ll see 60% to 70% renewables,” Long said. “The question is how that is split between wind and solar.”

The state is well positioned in both categories, NREL Senior Energy Analyst Robert Margolis said, enough for Colorado to take on a larger or even “outsized” role in the nationwide push for renewables.

• America's First Offshore Wind Port Breaks Groun

Earthworks will begin on-site in the coming weeks and major construction is due to start in December 2021 with the goal of opening the port in winter 2023/2024.

The New Jersey Wind Port will be located on an artificial island on the eastern shores of the Delaware River, southwest of the City of Salem. The site was selected in June 2020 after a 22-month assessment process, including engagement with industry, government, and environmental stakeholders and the NJEDA has been preparing site and finalizing design since summer 2020.

The groundbreaking marks the next step in developing the New Jersey Wind Port as a hub for offshore wind. In June, New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy signed the Fiscal Year 2022 state budget, which included USD 200 million allocated for the development of the New Jersey Wind Port; this is in addition to USD 13 million from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and USD 44 million in partnership with New Jersey Department of Transportation for dredging. In July, the NJEDA announced AECOM-Tishman as the Construction Manager (CM) for the project.

In addition to the groundbreaking ceremony, the event also included the signing of a project labor agreement (PLA) for the project between AECOM-Tishman and the United Building Trades Council of Southern New Jersey AFL-CIO.

The New Jersey Wind Port has the potential to create up to 1,500 manufacturing, assembly, and operations jobs, as well as hundreds of union construction jobs in New Jersey. Manufacturing and marshalling projects supported by the Wind Port are expected to drive economic growth in Salem County, in South Jersey, and throughout the state.

Offshore wind is a central component of New Jersey’s Energy Master Plan to achieve 100 per cent clean energy by 2050. As part of that plan, New Jersey has committed to producing 7,500 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035.

• How Mirrors Could Solve our Energy Problem

Little extra……..

• No New Coal by 2021

The global pipeline of proposed coal power plants has collapsed by 76% since the Paris Agreement in 2015, bringing the end of new coal power construction into sight.

Since 2015, 44 governments (27 in the OECD & EU, 17 elsewhere) have already committed to no new coal, opening a pathway for remaining countries that are yet to act. We find that a further 40 countries (eight in the OECD & EU, 32 elsewhere) are without any projects in the pre-construction pipeline and are in a position where they could readily commit to ‘no new coal’.

Globally, 1,175GW of planned coal-fired power projects have been cancelled since 2015. Accelerating market trends have combined with new government policies and sustained civil society opposition to coal. The world has avoided a 56% expansion of the total global coal fleet (as of June 2021), which would have been equivalent to adding a second China (1,047GW) to global coal capacity.

As of July 2021, China and the countries with the next five biggest pre-construction pipelines (India, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Turkey, and Bangladesh) account for over four-fifths of the world’s remaining pipeline. Action by these six countries could remove 82% of the pre-construction pipeline. The remaining pre-construction pipeline is spread across a further 31 countries, 16 of which have just one project. These countries could follow global momentum and many of their regional peers in ending their pursuit of new coal-fired power generation.

The dynamic within the OECD & EU has already moved on to accelerating the retirement of existing coal power generation, with 56% of operating capacity either closed already since 2010 or scheduled to close by 2030. The pipeline of proposed coal power plants in OECD & EU countries has collapsed by 85% since 2015. The remaining proposed projects in OECD & EU countries make up just 6% of the global pre-construction pipeline. Australia, Colombia, Mexico, Poland, and Turkey are under pressure to follow their OECD & EU peers.

Tesla? Pishh.

World’s largest floating wind farm takes another step forward

Able to power 50,000 homes, the ‘world’s largest floating wind farm’ takes another step forward

Norway’s Statkraft said Tuesday that a long-term purchasing agreement related to a floating offshore wind farm dubbed “the world’s largest” had started, in another step forward for the emerging renewable energy sector.

The Kincardine Offshore Windfarm is a six turbine, 50 megawatt facility located in waters off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland. Turbine installation for the project — which Statkraft described as “the world’s largest floating wind farm” — was recently completed.

A power purchase agreement between Statkraft and developer Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Ltd, signed in 2018 but which now enters into force, will see the former buy “all electrical output from the floating wind project with a guaranteed minimum price per MWh [megawatt hour] until 2029.”

According to Statkraft, which is owned by the Norwegian state, the KOWL project will send more than 200,000 megawatt hours to the grid each year. This, it said, would be enough to power more than 50,000 homes.

“This is the first floating project that Statkraft has been involved in and we expect more to follow,” John Puddephatt, Statkraft’s manager for long term PPA origination, said in a statement.

The technology, Puddephatt said, “could help countries around the world achieve their renewable energy targets.”

Floating offshore wind turbines are different to bottom-fixed offshore wind turbines that are rooted to the seabed. One advantage of floating turbines is that they can be installed in deeper waters compared to bottom-fixed ones.

World's largest project begins supplying power off Scottish coast

• China vows end to building coal-fired power plants abroad

Chinese President Xi Jinping told the UN General Assembly Tuesday that his country "will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad" and plans to boost support for clean energy in developing nations.

Why it matters: The pledge, if maintained, would mark a breakthrough in efforts to transition global power away from the most carbon-emitting fuel.

Nations, including the U.S., have been urging China — historically a key source of coal-plant finance — to make such a commitment.

Xi's pledge on coal financing comes just weeks before a critical UN climate summit. However, his remarks did not provide any details on the commitment or its implementation timeline.

Yes, but: China is by far the world's largest coal producer and consumer, and it's still building new coal-fired power generation domestically.

Xi reiterated China's pledge to have its greenhouse gas emissions peak before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, but he did not offer strengthened domestic commitments.

Michigan developing electrified road to wirelessly charge EVs, Whitmer says

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Tuesday announced a new effort to develop a wireless charging public road that would allow motorists to charge their electric vehicles without making a stop to plug in.

Whitmer made the announcement concerning the Inductive Vehicle Charging Pilot during Michigan's Motor Bella, an alternative option to the North American International Auto Show, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The Michigan Department of Transportation will reportedly request a proposal for work on an unidentified one-mile stretch of road in the Detroit area at the end of this month.

"We're rebuilding infrastructure in Michigan. Orange barrels are everywhere. It's important that we're rebuilding, but we're doing it in a resilient way that supports advanced technology," Whitmer said during the event, according to the Free Press.

She added that a wireless charging project would be critical to accommodating the needs of electric vehicle fleets.

“Michigan was home to the first mile of paved road, and now we’re paving the way for the roads of tomorrow with innovative infrastructure [that] will support the economy and the environment, helping us achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050,” Whitmer said.

Trevor Pawl, chief mobility officer with the state's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, lauded the announcement, noting that the innovation could be very beneficial for electric buses, shuttles and other vehicles.

“This electrified roadway has the potential to accelerate autonomous vehicles at scale and turn our streets into safe, sustainable, accessible and shared transportation platforms,” Pawl said, according to the newspaper.

Electreon

How to……..

• Boston lawmakers approve zero emissions for large buildings by 2050

The Boston City Council on Wednesday approved an ordinance requiring buildings larger than 20,000 square feet to cut emissions completely by 2050.

A spokesperson told the Boston Globe that acting Mayor Kim Janey (D) plans to sign the unanimously approved ordinance. The ordinance will apply to roughly 3,500 commercial buildings, which account 60 percent of the city’s building emissions, The Globe noted.

"After a decade serving in elected office, I can honestly say that this is my most proud legislative achievement," City Councilor Matt O’Malley tweeted.

"Developers, industry folks, & the real estate community always had a seat at the table (& will continue to) and made this a better product. We worked collaboratively without sacrificing our principles and, as a result, ended up with a unanimous vote of support," he added.

"This is going to make sure that Boston leads on not only energy efficiency, but building a cleaner, greener, safer city, commonwealth, country and planet for generations to come," O’Malley told reporters before the measure passed, according to a local NPR affiliate.

The measure will permit buildings to incrementally reduce their emissions, with the expressed goal of cutting them in half by 2030, according to the affiliate.

Boston’s environment chief, The Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, told The Globe she is “ecstatic” about the ordinance, which she said has roots in similar plans in Washington, D.C., and New York and St. Louis.

“This indicates how serious we all understand the climate crisis to be for the city,” White-Hammond said.

“What we really want is for folks to decarbonize their buildings,” White-Hammond added. “We hope this gives the building sector and development the clarity they need ... but we know what the future looks like. We can pay for it now, or we can pay more for it later.”

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Michigan developing electrified road to wirelessly charge EVs, Whitmer says

I wonder about the energy efficiency of wireless charging. There must be a way to make electric vehicles less efficient than gasoline cars.

Ford, SK to invest $11.4 bln to add electric F-150 plant, three battery factories

Ford Motor Co and its Korean battery partner SK Innovation will invest $11.4 billion to build an electric F-150 assembly plant, and three battery plants in the United States, accelerating the No. 2 U.S. automaker’s push into electric vehicles.

Ford also said on Monday it now expects to have 40% to 50% of its global vehicle volume to be all-electric by 2030, up from its prior forecast of 40%.

The companies intend to create nearly 11,000 jobs by opening assembly and battery plants in Stanton, Tennessee, and two additional battery factories in Glendale, Kentucky, as part of Ford’s previously announced plan to spend more than $30 billion through 2030 on electrification, Ford said. Plants on both sites will open in 2025.

Monday’s announcement is the single largest manufacturing investment in Ford’s 118-year history. The Tennessee assembly and battery complex will be about three times the size of Ford’s sprawling, century-old Rouge manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford North American Chief Operating Officer Lisa Drake told Reuters in an interview. She emphasized there will be room to expand on that site.

“For us, this is a very transformative point where we are putting our capital in place now in a very big way to lead the transition to EVs,” Drake said.

Ford’s portion of the investment is $7 billion, with SK covering the rest. The companies will invest $5.8 billion in Kentucky, and $5.6 billion in Tennessee.

Ford, which plans to launch the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck next spring, has moved more aggressively to roll out its EV strategy under Jim Farley, who took over as chief executive in October 2020. Earlier in September, Ford doubled planned production capacity in Dearborn, Michigan, for the F-150 Lightning here to 80,000 annually due to strong pre-launch demand for the electric pickup.

Ford and other automakers are pushing hard to prepare for the rollout of EVs as countries and regions like China and Europe seek greater reduction of vehicle emissions.

The planned lithium-ion battery plants build on a memorandum of understanding announced by Ford and SK in May. The battery plants will be jointly owned with SK and have a combined annual capacity of 129 gigawatt-hours (GWh) when fully operational, more than double the level outlined in May, Drake said. The new capacity would be enough to power more than 1 million EVs.

Originally Posted by Takeovers

I wonder about the energy efficiency of wireless charging.

I think I read a couple different articles and it was about 90 to 97%

Originally Posted by S Landreth

BMW Wireless Charging. Car charging in 3.5 hrs. without a cable.

Thanks for clarifying.

Originally Posted by S Landreth

Michigan developing electrified road to wirelessly charge EVs, Whitmer says

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) on Tuesday announced a new effort to develop a wireless charging public road that would allow motorists to charge their electric vehicles without making a stop to plug in.

I can't see this as the long term solution.

Massive inefficiency, phenomenal capital costs ... I don't drive an EV ... why should I pay?


I look forward to owning an EV, but I'll charge it from my Solar Cells (for free) thanks.

This thing is the nuts...

Community-scale batteries are already achievable in Australia, will complement existing household batteries and will allow more solar energy to be stored in our suburbs, analysis from The Australian National University (ANU) shows.
With the move towards community-scale batteries gathering pace across the nation, two new reports from ANU show the best way forward when it comes to their rollout. The batteries have power capacity of around one megawatt (MW), or enough to power around 100 houses.
They help "soak up" solar power generated during the day, improving reliability.

Plus this has me excited ...

Originally Posted by David48atTD

Plus this has me excited ...

Vehicle to grid is an interesting idea.

I am not sure it is the optimum solution, it has disadvantages. Batteries have a limited number of load cycles. They are optimized for different properties for different applications. There is a chinese battery development, cheaper, using cheaper more abundant materials and has a larger number of load cycles, however it is heavier than other designs, so less ideal for for mobile operations in cars. They are used in cheaper cars with limited driving distance. Ideal for city cars, but if you go for a once a year vacation you will need to do more charging stops.

Mostly it will be efficient, to use stationary batteries for grid purposes. Those are optimized for their use case.

BTW, an old Elon Musk idea how to charge cars without the driver needing to plug the car in. Introducing the snake charger! Not sure this was serious or did they build it just to make this video. Plugless is probably the better solution.

• Iron Battery Breakthrough Could Eat Lithium’s Lunch

The world’s electric grids are creaking under the pressure of volatile fossil-fuel prices and the imperative of weaning the world off polluting energy sources. A solution may be at hand, thanks to an innovative battery that’s a cheaper alternative to lithium-ion technology.

SB Energy Corp., a U.S. renewable-energy firm that’s an arm of Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., is making a record purchase of the batteries manufactured by ESS Inc. The Oregon company says it has new technology that can store renewable energy for longer and help overcome some of the reliability problems that have caused blackouts in California and record-high energy prices in Europe.

The units, which rely on something called “iron-flow chemistry,” will be used in utility-scale solar projects dotted across the U.S., allowing those power plants to provide electricity for hours after the sun sets. SB Energy will buy enough batteries over the next five years to power 50,000 American homes for a day.

“Long-duration energy storage, like this iron-flow battery, are key to adding more renewables to the grid,” said Venkat Viswanathan, a battery expert and associate professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

ESS was founded in 2011 by Craig Evans, now president, and Julia Song, the chief technology officer. They recognized that while lithium-ion batteries will play a key role in electrification of transport, longer duration grid-scale energy storage needed a different battery. That’s because while the price of lithium-ion batteries has declined 90% over the last decade, their ingredients, which sometimes include expensive metals such as cobalt and nickel, limit how low the price can fall.

The deal for 2 gigawatt-hours of batteries is worth at least $300 million, according to ESS. Rich Hossfeld, chief executive officer of SB Energy, said the genius of the units lies in their simplicity.

“The battery is made of iron salt and water,” said Hossfeld. “Unlike lithium-ion batteries, iron flow batteries are really cheap to manufacture.”

Every battery has four components: two electrodes between which charged particles shuffle as the battery is charged and discharged, electrolyte that allows the particles to flow smoothly and a separator that prevents the two electrodes from forming a short circuit.

Flow batteries, however, look nothing like the battery inside smartphones or electric cars. That’s because the electrolyte needs to be physically moved using pumps as the battery charges or discharges. That makes these batteries large, with ESS’s main product sold inside a shipping container.

What they take up in space, they can make up in cost. Lithium-ion batteries for grid-scale storage can cost as much as $350 per kilowatt-hour. But ESS says its battery could cost $200 per kWh or less by 2025.

Crucially, adding storage capacity to cover longer interruptions at a solar or wind plant may not require purchasing an entirely new battery. Flow batteries require only extra electrolyte, which in ESS’s case can cost as little as $20 per kilowatt hour.

“This is a big, big deal,” said Eric Toone, science lead at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which has invested in ESS. “We’ve been talking about flow batteries forever and ever and now it’s actually happening.”

The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration built a flow battery as early as 1980. Because these batteries used water, they presented a much safer option for space applications than lithium-ion batteries developed around that time, which were infamous for catching on fire. Hossfeld says he’s been able to get permits for ESS batteries, even in wildfire-prone California, that wouldn’t have been given to lithium-ion versions.

Still, there was a problem with iron flow batteries. During charging, the battery can produce a small amount of hydrogen, which is a symptom of reactions that, left unchecked, shorten the battery’s life. ESS’s main innovation, said Song, was a way of keeping any hydrogen produced within the system and thus hugely extending its life.

“As soon as you close the loop on hydrogen, you suddenly turn a lab prototype into a commercially viable battery option,” said Viswanathan. ESS’s iron-flow battery can endure more than 20 years of daily use without losing much performance, said Hossfeld.

At the company’s factory near Portland, yellow robots cover plastic sheets with chemicals and glue them together to form the battery cores. Inside the shipping containers, vats full of electrolyte feed into each electrode through pumps — allowing the battery to do its job of absorbing renewable power when the sun shines and releasing it when it gets dark.

It’s a promising first step. ESS’s battery is a cheap solution that can currently provide about 12 hours of storage, but utilities will eventually need batteries that can last much longer as more renewables are added to the grid. Earlier this month, for example, the lack of storage contributed to a record spike in power prices across the U.K. when wind speeds remained low for weeks. Startups such as Form Energy Inc. are also using iron, an abundant and cheap material, to build newer forms of batteries that could beat ESS on price.

So far, ESS has commercially deployed 8 megawatt-hours of iron flow batteries. Last week, after a six-month evaluation, Spanish utility Enel Green Power SpA signed a single deal for ESS to build an equivalent amount. SB Energy’s Hossfeld, who also sits on ESS’s board, said the company would likely buy still more battery capacity from ESS in the next five years.

Even as its order books fill up, ESS faces a challenging road ahead. Bringing new batteries to market is notoriously difficult and the sector is littered with failed startups. Crucially, lithium-ion technology got a head start and customers are more familiar with its pros and cons. ESS will have to prove that its batteries can meet the rigorous demands of power plant operators.

The new order should help ESS as it looks to go public within weeks through a special-purpose acquisition company at a valuation of $1.07 billion. The listing will net the company $465 million, which it plans to use to scale up its operations.

• The Benefits of Flow Batteries Over Lithium Ion

ESS All Natural Iron Flow Battery

• North Sea Link: World's longest undersea power cable linking Norway and UK is now operational

The world's longest undersea power connection was today switched on, allowing Norway and the UK to share renewable energy.

The North Sea Link should see the UK reduce its carbon emissions by 23 million tonnes by 2030.

The 720-kilometre cable connects Blyth in Northumberland, in north-eastern England, to Kvilldall, a small village in south-western Norway.

It will initially have a maximum capacity of 700 megawatts (MW) which will be gradually increased to reach 1,400 MW in about three months' time.

The UK's National Grid, which operates the interconnector in a joint venture with Norway's Statnett system operator, said in a statement that once at full capacity, the North Sea Link should provide enough clean electricity to power 1.4 million homes.

When wind generation in the UK will be high but energy demand low, extra renewable power will be exported from the UK to Norway and conserve water in Norway's reservoirs, according to the statement. However, when demand is high in the UK but wind generation is low, hydropower from Norway will be imported.

Cordi O'Hara, President of National Grid Ventures, said that it is "an exciting day for National Grid and an important step as we look to diversify and decarbonise the UK's electricity supply".


"North Sea Link is a truly remarkable feat of engineering. We had to go through mountains, fjords and across the North Sea to make this happen. But as we look forward to COP26, Noth Sea Link is also a great example of two countries working together to maximise renewable energy resources for mutual benefit," he added.

• Austria to introduce new carbon tax from mid-2022

The Austrian government has announced plans to reform the country’s tax system in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The government said Sunday that it will introduce a new carbon tax beginning on July 1, 2022, and will return that money to residents in the form of a “climate bonus.”

Starting next year, Austrians will find themselves having to pay 30 euros (almost $35) per ton of CO2 — a cost that’s likely to be added to consumer bills by companies. That will rise to 55 euros ($64) per ton in 2025.

The government expects to generate about 5 billion euros ($5.8 billion) from the tax by 2025.

Each resident in Austria will get an annual reimbursement, with the exact amount determined by where they live to ensure those in rural regions without good public transport don’t lose out. Children are entitled to half their parents’ amount — so a family of two adults and two children in Vienna could expect to get 300 euros ($358) for example.

The goal is to encourage people to opt for climate-friendly forms of transportation and heating by making carbon-intensive choices more expensive, without adding to the overall tax burden.

The governing coalition of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s conservative People’s Party and the environmentalist Greens also announced income tax cuts, a reduction in some health insurance charges and other measures that mainly benefit families and low-and-medium income groups.

It also plans to reduce taxes for companies, particularly those in energy-intensive industries that will be hit hardest by the new carbon tax.

There is a similar link Germany Norway. Somewhat shorter at 516km. Function is the same. Transfer wind power from Germany to Norway or transfer hydropower from Norway to Germany.

NordLink - Wikipedia

Originally Posted by Takeovers

There is a similar link Germany Norway. Somewhat shorter at 516km. Function is the same. Transfer wind power from Germany to Norway or transfer hydropower from Norway to Germany.

NordLink

Impressive

Germany and Norway have officially commissioned NordLink, a 623km long high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission system that will provide clean energy to Europe’s largest economy.

Norway’s power production is mostly based on hydropower. Because of the country’s large reservoirs, it can control its renewable energy generation while also helping to offset shortfalls in continuous supply from renewable energy power plants of Germany.

The NordLink cable is also expected to help Norway become a green energy hub.

NordLink: The green link

Some may see more problems ahead than benefits.

Planet of the Humans.

^You didn’t think the post might have been more appropriate for the movie review thread