nuclear-news

Recharge’s ”must read” news of the week on the energy transition

Age of uncertainty, Dutch nuclear bombshell and why its decision-time for Big Oil,  Our weekly curation of the must-read news and analysis from the-week-that-was in the global renewable energy industry.  https://www.rechargenews.com/transition/age-of-uncertainty-dutch-nuclear-bombshell-and-why-its-decision-time-for-big-oil/2-1-882244 , 25 September 2020 , By Andrew Lee As Covid-19 continues to dominate political and economic agendas, Recharge carried a sobering reminder of the other emergency facing our world leaders – and some timely insights into how they may respond. The latest Energy Transition Outlook from Wood Mackenzie puts at $25 trillion over 20 years the cost of investment in carbon-cutting technologies – and follows with the sting in the tail that even that won’t be enough to avoid damaging global warming without drastic measure to replace heavy-emitting industrial plant. Such epic challenges require action from the very top, and there was a cautious welcome for an announcement from China’s leader Xi Jinping that the world’s biggest polluter would aim to be carbon net-neutral by 2060. Although lacking in detail, Xi’s pledge is likely to add further momentum to China’s world-leading renewable energy growth, and Recharge revealed how key power sector players are already planning how the nation can reach a terawatt or more of wind and solar in just five years. Trump v Biden: how the election will impact US renewables policy and the global climate battle  Read more So to that other economic superpower, the US, where Recharge set out just how stark is the contrast between the two contenders in the upcoming Presidential election – Donald Trump, who views the climate emergency as a non-issue, and Joe Biden, who has pledged to rejoin the Paris Agreement withing 24 hours of taking office. Meanwhile, while by no means a superpower (expect possibly in political black comedy and offshore wind), the UK still has plenty to say about the energy transition, especially in its role as notional host of next year’s COP 26. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a UN roundtable that Britain would make a ‘big bet’ on hydrogen as part of its drive to net-zero, only to be reminded by a leading UK renewables body that his government has yet to come up with a strategy for the key energy transition fuel. Nuclear power, that most controversial piece of the energy transition jigsaw puzzle, was back in the headlines this week in a thoroughly left-field fashion. Recharge reported how the Dutch energy minister is preparing to launch a consultation on the prospect of new nuclear plants in the Netherlands, after perusing a report that claims they can be more cost-effective (contentious) and safer (downright bizarre) than wind or solar projects. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a UN roundtable that Britain would make a ‘big bet’ on hydrogen as part of its drive to net-zero, only to be reminded by a leading UK renewables body that his government has yet to come up with a strategy for the key energy transition fuel. Nuclear power, that most controversial piece of the energy transition jigsaw puzzle, was back in the headlines this week in a thoroughly left-field fashion. Recharge reported how the Dutch energy minister is preparing to launch a consultation on the prospect of new nuclear plants in the Netherlands, after perusing a report that claims they can be more cost-effective (contentious) and safer (downright bizarre) than wind or solar projects. This was the latest in what is becoming a regular reappearance of nuclear on the energy transition agenda, including recent endorsements of the technology’s potential by the likes of Google and an apparent determination by the French to find a role for its atomic fleet in the future hydrogen economy. Before they do anything they might regret, the Dutch may want to ask the authors of a report that claims nuclear has drained Germany of €1trn ($1.18trn) over its soon-to-end dalliance with the industry. The world’s oil giants are rarely out of the energy transition headlines, and this week it was the turn of Total, the French supermajor, to cause the biggest splash with news that it will buy 6TWh of solar power to supply green electricity to its entire European operation. Elsewhere peer Shell forged a renewable power supply pact with Microsoft, while a less familiar name got in on the act when Recharge revealed how China’s CNOOC has widened its offshore wind footprint and added green hydrogen to its corporate agenda. However, in a reality check for the world’s oil giants, Recharge Editor-in-Chief Darius Snieckus challenged them to rapidly decide that the fate of the planet is more important than any vestiges of their former fossil-led business models, then act – and invest – accordingly.

September 26, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment

Renewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it

Renewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it   https://theconversation.com/renewable-energy-can-save-the-natural-world-but-if-were-not-careful-it-will-also-hurt-it-145166
 September 2, 2020    Laura Sonter, Lecturer in Environmental Management, The University of Queensland, James Watson, Professor, The University of Queensland, Richard K Valenta, Director – WH Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre – The Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland

A vast transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is crucial to slowing climate change. But building solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy infrastructure requires mining for materials. If not done responsibly, this may damage species and ecosystems.

In our research, published today, we mapped the world’s potential mining areas and assessed how they overlap with biodiversity conservation sites.

We found renewable energy production will exacerbate the threat mining poses to biodiversity – the world’s variety of animals and plants. It’s fair to assume that in some places, the extraction of renewables minerals may cause more damage to nature than the climate change it averts.

1. Australia is well placed to become a leader in mining of renewable energy materials and drive the push to a low-carbon world. But we must act now to protect our biodiversity from being harmed in the process.

2. Mining to prevent climate change

   Currently, about 17% of current global energy consumption is achieved through renewable energy. To further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this proportion must rapidly increase.

   Building new renewable energy infrastructure will involve mining minerals and metals. Some of these include:

   • lithium, graphite and cobalt (mostly used in battery storage)
   • zinc and titanium (used mostly for wind and geothermal energy)
   • copper, nickle and aluminium (used in a range of renewable energy technologies).

   The World Bank estimates the production of such materials could increase by 500% by 2050. It says more than 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to build the wind, solar and geothermal power, and energy storage, needed to keep global warming below 2℃ this century.

3. However, mining can seriously damage species and places. It destroys natural habitat, and surrounding environments can be harmed by the construction of transport infrastructure such as roads and railways.

4. What we found

   We mapped areas around the world potentially affected by mining. Our analysis involved 62,381 pre-operational, operational, and closed mines targeting 40 different materials.

   We found mining may influence about 50 million km² of Earth’s land surface (or 37%, excluding Antarctica). Some 82% of these areas contain materials needed for renewable energy production. Of this, 12% overlaps with protected areas, 7% with “key biodiversity areas”, and 14% with remaining wilderness.

   Our results suggest mining of renewable energy materials may increase in currently untouched and “biodiverse” places. These areas are considered critical to helping species overcome the challenges of climate change.

5. Threats here and abroad

   Australia is well positioned to become a leading supplier of materials for renewable energy. We are also one of only 17 nations considered ecologically “megadiverse”.

   Yet, many of the minerals needed for renewable energy exist in important conservation areas.

   For example, Australia is rich in lithium and already accounts for half of world production. Hard-rock lithium mines operate in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

   This area has also been identified as a national biodiversity hotspot and is home to many native species. These include small marsupials such as the little red antechinus and the pebble-mound mouse, and reptiles including gecko and goanna species.

6. Australia is also ranked sixth in the world for deposits of rare earth elements, many of which are needed to produce magnets for wind turbines. We also have large resources of other renewables materials such as cobalt, manganese, tantalum, tungsten and zirconium.

   It’s critical that mining doesn’t damage Australia’s already vulnerable biodiversity, and harm the natural places valued by Indigenous people and other communities.

   In many cases, renewables minerals are found in countries where the resource sector is not strongly regulated, posing an even greater environmental threat. For example, the world’s second-largest untouched lithium reserve exists in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni salt pan. This naturally diverse area is mostly untouched by mining.

   The renewables expansion will also require iron and steel. To date, mining for iron in Brazil has almost wiped out an entire plant community, and recent dam failures devastated the environment and communities.

7. We need proactive planning

   Strong planning and conservation action is needed to avoid, manage and prevent the harm mining causes to the environment. However global conservation efforts are often naive to the threats posed by significant growth in renewable energies.

   Some protected areas around the world prevent mining, but more than 14% contain metal mines in or near their boundaries. Consequences for biodiversity may extend many kilometres from mining sites.

    

   Meanwhile, other areas increasingly important for conservation are focused on the needs of biodiversity, and don’t consider the distribution of mineral resources and pressures to extract them. Conservation plans for these sites must involve strategies to manage the mining threat.

8. There is some good news. Our analyses suggest many required materials occur outside protected areas and other conservation priorities. The challenge now is to identify which species are most at risk from current and future mining development, and develop strong policies to avoid their loss.

September 3, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, renewable | Leave a comment