Energy & the Environment News and Discussions

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

[Ken_J]

[Yuli Ban]

President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will build up to 14 new reactors as part of a “renaissance” for the French nuclear industry.

The new reactors are to be built as part of the country’s strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

The French leader said the new plants would be built and operated by state-controlled energy provider EDF, and that tens of billions of euros in public financing would be mobilised to pay for the projects, safeguarding EDF’s finances.

Mr Macron provided a roadmap for the building of third-generation EPR (European Pressurised water Reactor) facilities during a visit to the eastern town of Belfort today.

The nuclear renaissance is still happening!

[weatheriscool]

President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will build up to 14 new reactors as part of a “renaissance” for the French nuclear industry.

The new reactors are to be built as part of the country’s strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

The French leader said the new plants would be built and operated by state-controlled energy provider EDF, and that tens of billions of euros in public financing would be mobilised to pay for the projects, safeguarding EDF’s finances.

Mr Macron provided a roadmap for the building of third-generation EPR (European Pressurised water Reactor) facilities during a visit to the eastern town of Belfort today.

The nuclear renaissance is still happening!

Great news! Nuclear and fusion is the only chance we have and we fucking know it.

[weatheriscool]

Catalyst turns carbon dioxide into gasoline 1,000 times more efficiently
https://phys.org/news/2022-02-catalyst- ... ently.html
by Andrew Myers, Stanford University

Engineers working to reverse the proliferation of greenhouse gases know that in addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions we will also need to remove carbon dioxide from power plant fumes or from the skies. But, what do we do with all that captured carbon? Matteo Cargnello, a chemical engineer at Stanford University, is working to turn it into other useful chemicals, such as propane, butane or other hydrocarbon fuels that are made up of long chains of carbon and hydrogen.

"We can create gasoline, basically," said Cargnello, who is an assistant professor of chemical engineering. "To capture as much carbon as possible, you want the longest chain hydrocarbons. Chains with eight to 12 carbon atoms would be the ideal."

A new catalyst, invented by Cargnello and colleagues, moves toward this goal by increasing the production of long-chain hydrocarbons in chemical reactions. It produced 1,000 times more butane—the longest hydrocarbon it could produce under its maximum pressure—than the standard catalyst given the same amounts of carbon dioxide, hydrogen, catalyst, pressure, heat and time. The new catalyst is composed of the element ruthenium—a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group—coated in a thin layer of plastic. Like any catalyst, this invention speeds up chemical reactions without getting used up in the process. Ruthenium also has the advantage of being less expensive than other high-quality catalysts, like palladium and platinum.

Cargnello and his team describe the catalyst and the results of their experiments in their latest paper, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cargnello and his team took seven years to discover and perfect the new catalyst. The hitch: The longer the hydrocarbon chain is, the more difficult it is to produce. The bonding of carbon to carbon requires heat and great pressure, making the process expensive and energy intensive.

[weatheriscool]

Largest US public power company launches new nuclear program
Source: AP

The largest public power company in the U.S. is launching a program to develop and fund new small modular nuclear reactors as part of its strategy to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The board for the Tennessee Valley Authority on Thursday authorized the program to assess moving forward with new nuclear technology, with up to $200 million to be spent for the first phase. The TVA wants the technology to be available to help power the grid in the 2030s if it proves cost-effective and necessary, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approves. The board met at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

The federally owned utility provides electricity to seven states. It has the first U.S. permit for a suitable site for small modular reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at the Clinch River Nuclear Site. By 2050, it hopes to hit its goal of net-zero emissions, which means the amount of greenhouse gases produced is no more than the amount removed from the atmosphere.

“Our objective isn’t to build one nuclear plant,” TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash said in an interview. “Our objective is to reach net zero carbon, to support economy-wide decarbonization, and to do it at a price and a level of reliability that people can count on. And this is a part of doing that.”

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/large ... ar-AATHPph

[wjfox]

President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will build up to 14 new reactors as part of a “renaissance” for the French nuclear industry.

The new reactors are to be built as part of the country’s strategy to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

The French leader said the new plants would be built and operated by state-controlled energy provider EDF, and that tens of billions of euros in public financing would be mobilised to pay for the projects, safeguarding EDF’s finances.

Mr Macron provided a roadmap for the building of third-generation EPR (European Pressurised water Reactor) facilities during a visit to the eastern town of Belfort today.

The nuclear renaissance is still happening!

Do we know the timescale on this? Would be cool to add a timeline entry.

[weatheriscool]

Global study finds the extent of pharmaceutical pollution in the world's rivers
https://phys.org/news/2022-02-global-ex ... world.html
by University of York

A new study looking at the presence of pharmaceuticals in the world's rivers found concentrations at potentially toxic levels in more than a quarter of the locations studied.

The new study looked at 258 rivers across the globe, including the Thames in London and the Amazon in Brazil, to measure the presence of 61 pharmaceuticals, such as carbamazepine, metformin and caffeine.

The researchers studied rivers in over half of the world's countries—with rivers in 36 of these countries having never previously been monitored for pharmaceuticals.

The study forms part of the University of York-led Global Monitoring of Pharmaceuticals Project, which has expanded significantly over the last two years, with the new study becoming the first truly global-scale investigation of medicinal contamination in the environment.

[caltrek]

New Federal Guidelines Aim to Boost Carbon Capture in the U.S.
by Justine Calma
February 15, 2022

https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/15/2293 ... -pipelines

Introduction:

(The Verge) On Tuesday, the Biden administration issued new guidelines for federal agencies on how to assess proposals to capture and sequester carbon dioxide pollution. The new guidance lays out steps that could encourage “widespread deployment” of a controversial form of climate tech, as well as the network of pipelines and other infrastructure that come along with it.

The bipartisan infrastructure law passed last fall included more than $12 billion for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Sequestration (CCUS) projects. The US will likely need such technologies to reach Biden’s climate goals, the new guidelines say. But the technologies, which draw CO2 out of smokestack emissions or the ambient air, are a divisive strategy for slowing climate change. Proponents say CCUS is needed to clean up hard-to-decarbonize industries like cement and steel. Critics, on the other hand, warn that the CCUS projects allow polluters to keep operating and could have negative consequences for nearby communities.

The guidelines issued today by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) seem to address some of those concerns by telling federal agencies how to conduct thorough environmental reviews of proposed CCUS projects. While CCUS typically refers to technologies that remove CO2 from emissions before they escape power plants or industrial facilities, the White House also lumps emerging “direct air capture” technologies that draw CO2 out of the ambient air into its definition. Both technologies depend on similar infrastructure, including pipelines that move the captured C02 to places where it can be stored underground or used in commercial products.

“While CCUS can be an important tool in tackling the climate crisis, the benefits and impacts of potential projects vary significantly — requiring careful planning and oversight to ensure deployment is safe, equitable, and environmentally sound,” says a White House fact sheet released today.

The White House fact sheet also includes information regarding development of clean hydrogen fuel projects:

• The Department of Energy is launching major clean hydrogen initiatives of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs that will create jobs to expand use of clean hydrogen in the industrial sector and beyond; $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program to reduce costs of hydrogen produced from clean electricity; and $500 million for Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling Initiatives to support equipment manufacturing and strong domestic supply chains.
…
Clean hydrogen can reduce emissions in many sectors of the economy, and is especially important for hard-to-decarbonize sectors and industrial processes, such as steel manufacturing. But clean hydrogen is not yet in widespread use. Targeted investments can help reduce costs, make new breakthroughs, and create jobs for American engineers, factory workers, construction workers, and others.

To seize those opportunities, today the Department of Energy (DOE) is launching three major new initiatives of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law by issuing Requests for Information:

• $8 billion for Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs: DOE will support development of networks of clean hydrogen producers, potential consumers, and connective infrastructure. These regional hubs will advance the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen, including innovative uses in the industrial sector. DOE will prioritize hubs that can provide significant training and long-term job opportunities for residents of the region.

• $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program: Electrolysis (using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen) allows for clean hydrogen production from carbon pollution-free power sources like wind, solar, and nuclear. This program will improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these technologies, by supporting the entire innovation chain—from research, development, and demonstration to commercialization, and deployment.

• $500 million for Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing and Recycling RD&D Activities: DOE will also support American manufacturing of clean hydrogen equipment, including projects that improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness and support domestic supply chains for key components, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Clean Hydrogen Manufacturing Initiative. DOE is also launching Clean Hydrogen Technology Recycling Research, Development, and Demonstration activities, to fund innovative approaches to increase the reuse and recycling of clean hydrogen technologies.

To view the entire fact sheet statement: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-roo ... facturing/

[wjfox]

[caltrek]

This "Green" Solution Might Have Made Cars Even Worse for the Planet
by Lauren Leffer
February 16, 2022

https://www.inverse.com/science/us-clim ... cars-worse

Introduction

(Inverse) EVERY TIME YOU FILL UP at the gas pump, 10 percent of that fuel comes from plants, not petroleum.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a U.S. policy first enacted in 2005, requires companies to add ethanol, a combustible liquid derived from starch, to all American fuel. Initially, the policy was meant to boost ethanol production from various sources, but now almost 95 percent of the country's ethanol comes from corn.

The RFS program was meant to both reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and minimize the environmental burden of the trillions of miles Americans collectively drive each year. Yet the actual environmental effects of the RFS have been hotly debated since its inception. A new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences strengthens the argument that the policy has done more harm to the planet than good.

WHAT'S NEW — Researchers focused on the climate change costs of creating suitable farmland to grow all the corn that ethanol is derived from. These costs include the carbon released when grassland and forest are cut down to make way for intensive agriculture, the greenhouse gasses emitted by fertilizers applied to crops, and the consequences of soil erosion and water pollution.

The researchers compared real-world environmental data from 2008 and 2016 with models of what might've happened without the RFS. They found the policy changed the national landscape enough to make gassing up at least 25 percent more carbon-intensive than it would've been otherwise.

caltrek's comment: I remember the points presented in this article being made at least a decade ago, and yet policy makers still seem to have not gotten the message.

[R8Z]

This "Green" Solution Might Have Made Cars Even Worse for the Planet
by Lauren Leffer
February 16, 2022

https://www.inverse.com/science/us-clim ... cars-worse

Introduction

(Inverse) EVERY TIME YOU FILL UP at the gas pump, 10 percent of that fuel comes from plants, not petroleum.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a U.S. policy first enacted in 2005, requires companies to add ethanol, a combustible liquid derived from starch, to all American fuel. Initially, the policy was meant to boost ethanol production from various sources, but now almost 95 percent of the country's ethanol comes from corn.

The RFS program was meant to both reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and minimize the environmental burden of the trillions of miles Americans collectively drive each year. Yet the actual environmental effects of the RFS have been hotly debated since its inception. A new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences strengthens the argument that the policy has done more harm to the planet than good.

WHAT'S NEW — Researchers focused on the climate change costs of creating suitable farmland to grow all the corn that ethanol is derived from. These costs include the carbon released when grassland and forest are cut down to make way for intensive agriculture, the greenhouse gasses emitted by fertilizers applied to crops, and the consequences of soil erosion and water pollution.

The researchers compared real-world environmental data from 2008 and 2016 with models of what might've happened without the RFS. They found the policy changed the national landscape enough to make gassing up at least 25 percent more carbon-intensive than it would've been otherwise.

caltrek's comment: I remember the points presented in this article being made at least a decade ago, and yet policy makers still seem to have not gotten the message.

Although it is probably true, this smells like petrol propaganda. But yea, I also dislike the addition of ethanol to gasoline. It should either one or the other as fuel as engines can't (or maybe let's say shouldn't) run at 100% with a mix of the two.

[weatheriscool]

Nearly half of US bald eagles suffer lead poisoning
https://phys.org/news/2022-02-widesprea ... agles.html
by Christina Larson

America's national bird is more beleaguered than previously believed, with nearly half of bald eagles tested across the U.S. showing signs of chronic lead exposure, according to a study published Thursday.

While the bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink of extinction since the U.S. banned the pesticide DDT in 1972, harmful levels of toxic lead were found in the bones of 46% of bald eagles sampled in 38 states from California to Florida, researchers reported in the journal Science.

Similar rates of lead exposure were found in golden eagles, which scientists say means the raptors likely consumed carrion or prey contaminated by lead from ammunition or fishing tackle.

The blood, bones, feathers and liver tissue of 1,210 eagles sampled from 2010 to 2018 were examined to assess chronic and acute lead exposure.

[weatheriscool]

Storm helps Poland hit wind energy record: 30% of power
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-sto ... power.html
by Monika Scislowska

Deadly high winds that struck Northern Europe last week generated a record level of wind energy for Poland, covering some 30% of the demand in a country where most of its electricity comes from coal, Poland's power distribution operator said Monday.

On Wednesday evening when gale-force winds hit "we registered a record level of power generation from wind farms of some 6,700 megawatts," Maciej Wapinski of the Polish Power System, PSE, told The Associated Press.

The demand at that time in Poland, an European Union nation of 38 million, was nearly 24,000 megawatts, meaning that "wind farms covered almost 30% of the demand," Wapinski said in an email.

[wjfox]

Russian attempts to 'weaponise' energy may fast-track Europe's shift to renewables, after initial pain

By energy reporter Daniel Mercer
Posted 19 hours ago, updated 17h ago

Energy experts say any attempts by Moscow to cut off European gas supplies are likely to backfire by fast-tracking the continent's shift away from fossil fuels towards renewable power.

But industry analysts have also warned that Europe faces potentially crippling economic pain in the short-term if Russia chooses to use energy as leverage in its war on Ukraine.

[...]

Perth USAsia Centre policy fellow James Bowen said the temptation to use oil and gas exports as an economic weapon would likely be irresistible to Russia.

[...]

"Energy, because it's so critical to the operations of economies, can be easily weaponised by authoritarian countries," he said.

"But in the long-term, Russia's dependence on energy as a form of economic development has been counterproductive to its broader development."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-25/ ... /100858538

[Xyls]

Why All Those EV-Battery ‘Breakthroughs’ You Hear About Aren’t Breaking Through

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-all-th ... 1645851613

Type the words “battery” and “breakthrough” into your search engine of choice, and you’ll encounter page after page of links. They include breathless news articles and lofty pronouncements from battery startups.

And yet, according to scientists, engineers, startup founders and analysts, the use of the word “breakthrough” in the context of battery technology is misleading at best. Claims that the latest research finding or startup launch will bear fruit in the near future are almost always nonsense, they say.

[Tadasuke]

Type the words “battery” and “breakthrough” into your search engine of choice, and you’ll encounter page after page of links. They include breathless news articles and lofty pronouncements from battery startups.

I've been reading about battery breakthroughs since 2008, every year. The last breakthrough that has changed the world was the development of Li-Ion batteries, but it took decades. The same guy (John B. Goodenough got Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019) that researched Li-Ion is now working at next-gen battery technology with his team and many other teams are researching better batteries around the world. I read that solid-state electrolyte batteries are coming this year. I don't think we will see massively better batteries anytime soon. Just gradually a bit better.

[weatheriscool]

Improved fuel cell performance using semiconductor manufacturing technology

by National Research Council of Science & Technology

A research team in Korea has synthesized metal nanoparticles that can drastically improve the performance of hydrogen fuel cell catalysts by using semiconductor manufacturing technology. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that the research team led by Dr. Sung Jong Yoo of the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Research Center has succeeded in synthesizing nanoparticles by a physical method rather than the existing chemical reactions by using the sputtering technology, which is a thin metal film deposition technology used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Metal nanoparticles have been studied in various fields over the past few decades. Recently, metal nanoparticles have been attracting attention as a critical catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells and water electrolysis systems to produce hydrogen. Metal nanoparticles are mainly prepared through complex chemical reactions. In addition, they are prepared using organic substances harmful to the environment and humans. Therefore, additional costs are inevitably incurred for their treatment, and the synthesis conditions are challenging. Therefore, a new nanoparticle synthesis method that can overcome the shortcomings of the existing chemical synthesis is required to establish the hydrogen energy regime.

The sputtering process applied by the KIST research team is a technology that coats a thin metal film during the semiconductor manufacturing process. In this process, plasma is used to cut large metals into nanoparticles, which are then deposited on a substrate to form a thin film. The research team prepared nanoparticles using "glucose," a special substrate that prevented the transformation of the metal nanoparticles to a thin film by using plasma during the process. The synthesis method used the principle of physical vapor deposition using plasma rather than chemical reactions. Therefore, metal nanoparticles could be synthesized using this simple method, overcoming the limitations of the existing chemical synthesis methods.

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-fuel-cell ... ology.html

[Yuli Ban]

Germany aims to fulfil all its electricity needs with supplies from renewable sources by 2035, compared to its previous target to abandon fossil fuels "well before 2040," according to a government draft paper obtained by Reuters on Monday.