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Friday, 13 November 2020
 
Good evening The Carbon Cut Readers! Today's highlights include:
  • Saudi Arabia is banking on green hydrogen to fuel its futuristic $500bn Neom city project

  • The world’s first carbon-negative rum distillery crowdfunded an astonishing £150,000 from investors in just three hours

  • Siemens Gamesa eyes China offshore wind hub to serve Southeast Asia

  • Bipartisan Majorities Support Tax Incentives Seeking to Reduce the Use of Fossil Fuels in the US

  • and the hero of Coca-Cola’s new Christmas TV commercial is not Father Christmas or a Snowman or a cuddly toy come to life, but a rugged lightly-bearded offshore wind technician.

    Have a great weekend and we'll be back on Monday with the latest updates!

Estimated Total Reading Time: 8 mins

⛽  NEW FUELS 


💧 Hydrogen


1️⃣ Romanian OMV Petrom and Romgaz to join forces in hydrogen production plant - Romanian state-owned gas producer Romgaz and OMV Petrom, the biggest local energy company, could partner to develop a hydrogen production facility near a wind farm in Dobrogea, according to Niculae Havrilet, a state secretary in the Ministry of Economy and Energy. The plant would use electricity to produce hydrogen through hydrolysis - to be later used in automobiles and energy generation applications. It would be the first such project in Romania.

2️⃣ Extracting hydrogen from natural gas networks: Linde and Evonik offer joint technology solution - Currently there is growing interest in the prospect of using the existing natural gas infrastructure more extensively to transport hydrogen, and green hydrogen in particular. Numerous initiatives have already been launched around the world in order to develop enabling technology concepts.

3️⃣ Berlin hotel being powered by hydrogen - The Mecure Hotel MOA Berlin in Germany is being powered by hydrogen. The hotel no longer heats with natural gas but instead with hydrogen from biogas, thanks to methane plasmalysis technology developed by Graforce. Using electricity from renewable energies, the MOA-H2eat solution splits the biogas into hydrogen and solid carbon.

4️⃣ Shell makes China green hydrogen debut to fuel Winter Olympics - Oil giant forms JV with Zhangjiakou City for 20MW electrolyser ahead of global sporting event.

5️⃣ Doosan awarded EPC contract for Korean hydrogen plant - Under the contract, the company will perform the EPC work for a hydrogen liquefaction plant and will also provide operation and maintenance (O&M) services for twenty years. Once complete and in commercial operation in 2023, the plant will have a daily production capacity of five tonnes of liquefied hydrogen, which will then be supplied to hydrogen stations nationwide.

6️⃣ Chemicals Giant Ineos Targets the World’s Cheapest Green Hydrogen - Ineos’ experience using giant electrolyzers for chlorine production could be the foundation for a low-cost green hydrogen business.

7️⃣ First UK homes heated with hydrogen - Located at DNV GL’s Spadeadam, Northumberland Testing and Research facility, these three homes have been specifically designed and built for a project called ‘HyStreet’, conducting safety testing for both H21 and the UK Government’s Hy4Heat programme.

8️⃣ HYZON Motors Signs Agreement for BayoTech to Provide Hydrogen Infrastructure Development - Under the agreement, BayoTech will be the provider of methane conversion technology to HYZON. The parties are targeting a broad buildout of high capacity hydrogen refueling stations to support the rapid deployment of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, with an emphasis on heavy-duty trucks and buses, but also encompassing other fuel cell applications.

9️⃣ Hydrogen first used for energy storage then wider applications: Mitsubishi Power - Mitsubishi Power Americas is positioning itself as a decarbonization company based initially on hydrogen and lithium-ion battery storage technologies, with longer-term plans for hydrogen to be used in other applications like power generation, according to President and CEO Paul Browning.

 

❄️ LNG & Natural Gas


1️⃣ Australian billionaire Forrest secures site for LNG import terminal - Australian Industrial Energy (AIE), wholly owned by Forrest’s Squadron Energy after it bought out its Japanese partners, said on Friday it had leased the site at Port Kembla for 10 years initially, with an option to extend to 25 years.

2️⃣ Maritime zero-carbon drive widens as 2 more companies build LPG duel-fuel VLGCs - This comes as the BW LPG vessel BW Gemini on Nov. 10 embarked on the world's first VLGC voyage on full LPG propulsion across the Pacific to Enterprise port in Houston from China's Jiangnan Shipyard.

3️⃣ Set for huge capacity expansion, Qatar eyes new LNG homes - With Qatar set to boost its LNG production capacity to 126 million mt/year before the end of the decade, Doha has been busy making sure it will be able to find homes for its huge volume of future supply. Not only has Qatar Petroleum, or QP, been booking new significant long-term capacity at import terminals in northwest Europe over the past year, but it has now also launched an LNG trading arm that can target shorter-term volume placements globally.

 

🚘 Mobility - EVs, Batteries & Fuel Cells


1️⃣ Electric Vehicles Are the Future, GM’s Mary Barra Says - General Motors believes in an all-electric vehicle future, CEO and Chairman Mary Barra told Barron’s readers Thursday—and hinted at more news that could bolster the company’s alternative fuel offerings next week.

2️⃣ Cummins and Navistar prototype hydrogen truck with 300-mile range - The prototype truck will see a year-long field test after development, the companies said. Werner will add the truck to its fleet and use it in regional and local delivery operations out of Fontana, California.




☀️  RENEWABLE GENERATION & SUPPLY 


🔋 Energy Storage


1️⃣ Tesla supplying 68MWh of Megapack battery storage to Fotowatio’s second project in UK - Developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has unveiled the second utility-scale battery project in its "strategic plan to develop energy storage projects globally," having closed funding and construction contracts for the 34MW / 68MWh project in West Sussex in southern England, UK.

 

☢️ Nuclear


1️⃣ Bill Gates Pushes for Nuclear Vessel Commercialization, as Nuclear Batteries Are Superior to Li-Ion Batteries - Retirement has not stopped Bill Gates from chairing TerraPower, a nuclear technology company. TerraPower will soon develop its own nuclear technology for nautical applications in support of the marine industry’s transition from conventional energy to clean power.

 

🔆 Solar Power


1️⃣ Mustang Two Whirlaway Solar Farm Officially Operating - Mustang Two Whirlaway, a 100 MW solar project in Kings County, Calif., has officially started operating and will generate clean and affordable power for Peninsula Clean Energy customers.

2️⃣ DOE Selects New Projects to Advance Solar Technologies - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made selections for $130 million in new projects to advance solar technologies. Through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) Solar Energy Technologies Office, DOE will fund 67 research projects across 30 states that reduce the cost of solar, increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and improve the reliability of the nation’s electric grid.

 

💨 Wind Power


1️⃣ Renewable energy: Floating windfarm plan 'really exciting' - A plan to build a floating windfarm off the Pembrokeshire coast is a "really exciting" opportunity for jobs and for meeting climate change targets, one of the developers has said. Blue Gem Wind would see seven to 10 wind turbines built in the Celtic Sea, about 45km (28 miles) off the coast, able to power almost 90,000 homes.

2️⃣ SSE all ears on 2.3GW Berwick Bank - SSE Renewables is inviting the public to visit an online showcase this month to find out more about the company’s plans for its up to 2300MWW Berwick Bank offshore wind farm off Scotland’s East Lothian coast. The company said it is encouraging residents, businesses, community groups and consultees in East Lothian to comment and provide initial feedback on the proposed Berwick Bank development during this first round of public consultation.

3️⃣ CWP seeks approval for 525MW Scottish wind giant - Community Windpower has filed a planning application for the 75-turbine, 525MW Scoop Hill wind farm in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The plans will see 22 turbines up to 250 metres high, which would be the tallest in Scotland, as well as two 225-metre machines, 47 at 200 metres and four at 180 metres.

4️⃣ European Energy partners on 800MW Scots onshore drive - Danish renewable energy company European Energy is partnering with Scottish clean power developer Locogen to deliver an 800MW onshore wind portfolio in Scotland. The partnership will combine the experience and resources of European Energy with the local expertise of Locogen.

5️⃣ SSE, Marubeni, CIP team targets ScotWind bids - SSE Renewables has joined forces with Japanese company Marubeni Corporation and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to work together on joint bids for the 10GW ScotWind offshore wind leasing process managed by Crown Estate Scotland.

6️⃣ Polish utility starts onshore probe for 1.2GW offshore - Polish company PKN Orlen has started onshore geological surveys for the grid link for its planned 1200MW Baltic Power offshore wind farm off Poland. The work is being carried out in the region of Choczewo, where the onshore cable will be installed underground to link the project to the Polish grid.

7️⃣ Time ticking on 900MW Dublin Array exhibition - There is one week remaining for the public to view the online virtual public exhibition platform for the proposed 900MW Dublin Array offshore wind farm off Ireland's coast.




♻️  CARBON CAPTURE & CIRCULAR TECH 


💎 Carbon Capture


1️⃣ Carbon dioxide removal sucks - Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) systems - touted as techno-fixes for global warming - usually put more greenhouse gases into the air than they take out, a recent study has confirmed. To capture 1 gigatonne of CO2 (1 GtCO2, just one-fortieth of current global CO2 emissions) would need nearly twice the amount of wind and solar electricity now produced globally. The equipment would need a land area bigger than the island of Sri Lanka and a vast network of pipelines and underground storage facilities.

 

🌳 Nature Based Solutions & Offsets


1️⃣ Shell gives customers option to offset their carbon emissions for two cents per litre - Shell Canada is letting carbon-conscious customers get their two cents in for the environment while filling up at one of its 1,400 stations across Canada.

2️⃣ Sempra donates $2M to Salk Institute for R&D efforts on plant-based carbon-capture - West coast utility owner Sempra Energy is partnering with a well-known research firm that will study and advance technologies for plant-based carbon capture and sequestration. Sempra is donating $2 million to the Salk Institute to help fund the five-year project.

 

🔄 Recycling, Waste & Circular Tech


1️⃣ UK blade recycling initiative spins into action - The National Composites Centre (NCC) in the UK has launched an initiative to accelerate the development of technology, processes and materials that address the recyclability and future development of composite wind turbine blades. The SusWind project is being delivered in partnership with the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult and is supported by The Crown Estate and RenewableUK.

2️⃣ Ionomr Innovations receives funding for CO2 to green fuels project - Vancouver-based Ionomr Innovations has received $240,692 from the National Research Council of Canada (NCR) to accelerate the development of its technology which converts carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into renewable fuels and chemicals.




🏦  POLICY & INVESTMENTS 


📜 Policy


1️⃣ How Biden can use military spending to combat climate change - In July 2019, the Virginia-based branch of German manufacturing giant Siemens landed a plum government contract: $829 million to overhaul the power plant that supplies electricity for the US Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The contract is the Navy’s biggest ever for energy efficiency upgrades. It includes lighting retrofits, air-conditioning upgrades, and replacing the base’s antiquated and highly polluting diesel generators with a combination of liquified natural gas and solar energy. It’s a rare example of a Trump-era climate initiative—and even rarer, there’s a good chance that president-elect Joe Biden will follow suit.

2️⃣ Finland launches National Hydrogen Roadmap - Finland has taken the first steps of its hydrogen journey with the unveiling of a national roadmap. Launched by Business Finland, National Hydrogen Roadmap focuses on an outlook for low carbon hydrogen production, hydrogen utilisation for green chemicals and fuels, as well as storage, transport and end use, over the next ten years.

3️⃣ Carbon-free energy rules move ahead in Arizona; renewable source requirement scrapped - Arizona utility regulators approved new clean-energy rules on Friday that will require electric companies to provide 100% carbon-free energy by 2050, with interim benchmarks between now and then. The final rules passed Friday include a host of other requirements, from energy efficiency requirements and battery storage policies for utilities.

 

📈Pricing & Trading


1️⃣ Arizona utility secures 200MW PPA - Arizona Public Service Company (APS) has entered into a 200MW power purchase agreement with Leeward Renewable Energy for electricity from the latter's two Aragonne wind farms in the US state of New Mexico.

2️⃣ California CCAs Have Signed 6,000 MW in Long-Term Clean Energy PPAs - The California Community Choice Association (CalCCA) says community choice aggregators (CCAs) in the state have to date signed long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) for more than 6,000 MW with new-build clean energy resources.




⚙️  OTHERS 


🧭 General


1️⃣ Massachusetts is the best state for technology and science, says Milken Institute - Massachusetts ranks No. 1 in the 2020 Milken Institute State Technology and Science Index. The biennial assessment uses 105 metrics to determine each state's science and technology capabilities relative to opportunities for job growth and wealth creation. Colorado follows at No. 2, and California comes in at No. 3, moving up one spot compared to the Institute's last ranking.

2️⃣ Fact-checking the US and China on climate and environment - There is tension between the China and the US on a range of issues, including climate change and the environment. In September, the US issued a list of China's environmental "abuses." In response, China put out its own report, detailing US "environmental damage".

3️⃣ Sweden, Norway expect 18 TWh of new renewable power by 2022 - Norwegian and Swedish authorities said on Thursday a further 18 terawatt hours (TWh) of additional renewable electricity generation capacity will be completed by 2022 under a joint subsidy scheme. Projects currently under construction totalled 7.4 TWh in Norway and 10.6 TWh in Sweden, a new monthly progress report showed.

4️⃣ US-based Bechtel eyes renewable energy projects in Serbia - US civil engineering company Bechtel is interested in participating in renewable energy projects in Serbia, the Serbian government said. "We believe that the future lies in renewable energy and we are interested in bringing our expertise to Serbia," the government quoted the marketing and business development manager for Europe, Africa and Middle East at Bechtel Infrastructure, Chris Jennions, as saying in a press release on Thursday.

5️⃣ Climate change solutions: The Earth could provide renewable energy for buildings - The heat stored in the Earth’s crust, known as geothermal energy, is carbon-free and effectively inexhaustible. There’s enough of it to run all of civilization for generations, if it could be cost-effectively tapped. Tapping it turns out to be no small feat, but efforts have ramped up recently due to new urgency by the climate crisis and the search for low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels.

6️⃣ Oxy Taking 'Contrarian Approach' to Net-Zero Emissions by Developing Oil Resources, Reusing CO2 - Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. is aiming for net-zero carbon emissions, but rather than investing in renewables, it plans to capture and then reuse the carbon from its global oil developments, CEO Vicki Hollub said Tuesday.

7️⃣ EU should take lead in climate cooperation with the US - The election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States is raising hopes that the US can be a partner again in international efforts to combat climate change. The US backed away from many climate commitments during the administration of president Donald Trump, including the United Nations’ Paris Agreement. Biden has already proposed plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and invest 2 trillion dollars in a low-carbon economy. Clean Energy Wire spoke to Susanne Dröge, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), about Biden’s climate plans, opportunities for cooperation and the role of the EU and Germany within the shifting geopolitical relations.

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