ONE NUMBER, ONE MESSAGE
Well worth 7 minutes of your time
In an unforgettable speech at the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference on November, the great Sir David Attenborough explains, “The (climate emergency) comes down to a single number – the concentration of carbon in our atmosphere.” In the first 1:20, he traces the progress of that number throughout history with a compelling animation that irrefutably illustrates the nature of the challenge that climate change poses to our planet It is because of human activity, he asserts, that “the global temperature has not wavered over the past 10,000 years by more than one degree Celsius – until now.” Watch the full speech here.
MODULARITY, COST REDUCTIONS RE-ENERGIZE CSP
A recent article from Reuters Events Renewables had positive news for those who continue to trumpet the unique benefits of CSP technology for providing, round-the-clock, dispatchable baseload clean power. The article cites a recent DOE report that expects Improvements in CSP technology to increase capacity factors and reduce upfront capital costs and operations and maintenance (O&M) costs, leading to the adoption of CSP technology in a broader range of applications than ever before. Many of the anticipated improvements are either already here or quickly realizable with large-scale deployment.
247Solar Solutions
For example, the report assumes that the cost of CSP with 12 hours of storage will fall to below $50/MWh by 2030. New third-generation CSP plants (like our 247Solar Plants) that can reach system temperatures of 1000°C or more will achieve over 50% net thermal to energy efficiency. In addition, new heat transfer materials and modular designs (again, like our 247Solar Plants) promise to further cut costs and make the 24/7 benefits of CSP accessible at much smaller scales than previously possible. Why CSP? The Biden administration aims to fully decarbonize the power sector in the U.S. by 2035, a hugely ambitious target that requires a rapid acceleration of solar and wind deployment. But solar PV and wind alone will not suffice. To fully decarbonize by 2050, more CSP and other storage technologies will be required to dispatch power overnight and during low solar and wind periods, the DOE says. The accompanying chart outlines a wholly plausible cost-reduction scenario whereby CSP achieves full LCOE parity with PV within the decade. Good news indeed. Download the full DOE report here.
MINE POWER
Beyond Pledges – Miners Taking Concrete Steps on the Road to Zero Carbon
Mining companies are beginning to wrestle with the challenges involved in reaching carbon neutrality by 2050, and to take concrete steps toward change. As reporter Melodie Michel writes in the latest issue of Energy and Mines, “30 years may seem like a long time, (but) achieving 2050 targets will require making fast investment decisions. And that means integrating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction in everyday business planning.” For some companies, this means both top-down and bottom-up approaches. Michel’s article quotes Sunil Kumar, Vice President Energy Strategy and Engineering for Kinross Gold, “The commitment is coming from our CEO, and we’re talking about climate change in business planning meetings with each of our sites. And as each of the sites looks at their business plans over the next few years, they’re also looking at the GHG emissions profile, and what are the things that can be done to reduce it.”
Low Hanging Fruit
In the process, companies are realizing just what the GHG targets they’ve set for themselves entail. Usually, this means decarbonizing their sources of power and material movement first. E&M cites Wood MacKenzie research which shows that emissions from power can range from 48% to 84% of total site emissions. Says Benjamin Attia, Senior Research Analyst, Energy Transition Practice at the firm, “Disproportionate amounts of decarbonization could be achieved from decarbonizing power and transport; that alone is a significant step of progress towards net-zero mining.” Yet that’s just the low-hanging fruit. Per Andrea Vaccari, Director of Responsible Production Frameworks and Sustainability at Freeport McMoran, also quoted in the article, “We have identified four main levers in our pathway to 2050: decarbonizing our electricity supply, energy and asset efficiency, electrification, and process innovation.” Addressing these areas will require significant investment, and also some amount of risk.
Investing in the Future
As Michel writes, one of the challenges in setting a net-zero target is that many of the technologies that will be instrumental to a low-carbon world are yet to be commercialized. She quotes Andrew Cooper, Energy Specialist at New Gold: “There’s a lot of new technology out there, a lot of new concepts, new innovation. So, the challenge is taking that innovation and looking at what’s going to be available to help us achieve our long-term targets, and you have to take some risks and make some assumptions.” There’s another area that miners are beginning to focus on as well. Most are already looking at their cutting their scope 1 and 2 emissions – emissions from their power sources and their own operations, respectively. However, a true zero carbon future means tackling scope 3 emissions – those produced by companies’ suppliers and customers in their own processes, too. E&M concludes, “What is becoming clear is that setting credible net-zero targets might be the easiest part of the journey. Juggling the many moving parts that will need to fall into place in order to make this a reality will be the real challenge for miners moving forward.” Read the full article here.
247SOLAR JOINS SMART ELECTRIC POWER
247Solar is pleased to announce its membership in the Smart Electric Power Alliance or SEPA. SEPA is a nonprofit organization that envisions a carbon-free energy system by 2050. SEPA has a very specific role in the journey towards carbon-free. Their mission is to facilitate the electric power industry’s smart transition to a clean and modern energy future through education, research, standards, and collaboration. Over 1,000 utilities, competitive solution providers, regulatory bodies, and NGO’s come to the SEPA community to advance a clean and modern electric grid.
FOLLOW & JOIN 247Solar
LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Whatsapp
Contact: info@247solar.com