Green Energy

Turbine blades have started spinning at Duke Energy Renewables’ 200 megawatt Mesteno Windpower project in Starr County, Texas.

In an announcement Monday, Duke Energy said that the facility, with its 56 3.6 megawatt (MW) wind turbines from Danish firm Vestas, would generate energy to power roughly 60,000 typical homes each year.

While the announcement was made this week, commercial operations actually began on December 31st.

Duke Energy said at 590.5 feet, the turbines were “some of the tallest” in the U.S. and able to “harness stronger winds,” producing more energy in the process.

“The combination of taller towers and V136-3.6 MW technology is perfectly designed to extract the abundant resource at the site, and deliver low-cost, reliable energy to the community and customer,” Chris Brown, who is president of Vestas’ sales and service division in the U.S. and Canada, said in a statement.

Texas is known for its oil production, but it is increasingly a major player in wind energy. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the Lone Star State had more than 27 gigawatts of installed wind capacity and 14,198 wind turbines during the third quarter of 2019. The nearest rival in terms of installed capacity, Iowa, had less than half (8.965 GW) of Texas’ installed capacity during the same period. Capacity refers to the maximum amount that installations can theoretically produce.

Last October, the AWEA’s “U.S. Wind Industry Third Quarter 2019 Market Report” stated that, overall, the U.S. was home to more than 100 GW of wind energy capacity.

According to the AWEA’s report 1,927 megawatts – a little under 2 GW – of wind power capacity was commissioned in the third quarter of 2019. These installations pushed overall capacity above the landmark figure of 100 GW, according to the report.

The U.S. would need 1,500 GW of utility-scale solar power and 500 GW of rooftop solar to reach 100% renewable energy by 2050, according to a plan developed by Stanford engineering professor Mark Jacobson and seven co-authors. Battery capacity of 3,300 GW would balance solar and wind power — helped by 512 GW of annual average flexible load.

Several states have adopted a policy goal along the lines of 100% renewable electricity by 2050, yet the Stanford plan would go further by electrifying all transportation and heating. Flexible load to help balance variable renewables would include use cases for storing cold, storing heat, demand response, and production of hydrogen for use in trucks powered by fuel cells.

The authors say “we must stop” 80% of fossil fuel emissions by 2030 to avoid 1.5°C global warming, citing a previous study. Reaching 80% of the plan’s ultimate U.S. solar target by 2030, starting from the current level of about 75 GWdc, would require a 36% compound annual growth rate in solar installations, based on a DC-AC ratio of 1.33. That 36% rate is notably more aggressive than the 18% annual growth targeted by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Reaching 80% of the Stanford plan’s ultimate 3,300 GW of battery capacity by 2030, starting from the current U.S. level of 1 GW, would require a compound annual growth rate of just over 100%. That compares with an Energy Storage Association post quoting Tom Leyden, Senior Director of EDF Renewables North America, saying, “Over the next 3 to 5 years, you’re going to see tremendous growth” in storage, as “some of the consultants figure there’ll be a 14 times growth over the next four or five years,” whereas a 3-year timeframe would represent an annual growth rate in installations of 100%.

Consumers would save 64% on their annual energy costs in 2050 under the plan, compared to a “business as usual” scenario, due to low-cost solar and wind power, plus savings from energy-efficient heat pumps, electric vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. Savings when counting avoided deaths and illness from air pollution, and climate benefits, are greater—with costs 87% lower than the “business as usual” case.

The plan identifies several industrial processes that can largely operate at times of high renewable generation, thus providing flexible load: “air liquefaction; induction and ladle metallurgy; water pumping with variable speed drives; and production by electrolysis of aluminum, chlor-alkali, potassium hydroxide, magnesium, sodium chlorate, and copper.”  Other research has identified a means of operating desalination as a flexible load as well.

The roadmap, which consists of plans for each region of the world, would need “only 0.17% and 0.48% of land for footprint and space, respectively” on a global basis, say the authors.

To conduct their analysis, the Stanford researchers used the LOADMATCH model, which “matches the variable supply of energy with variable demand, storage, and demand response … every 30 seconds in each region from 2050 to 2052,” as illustrated in this complex set of graphs, which the paper explains:

The modeling made a simplifying assumption of “perfect transmission”—that is, no transmission congestion. The paper cited previous research showing that if long-distance transmission congestion is an issue, “increasing the transmission capacity will relieve congestion with only a modest increase in cost.”

The Stanford team’s paper, “Impacts of Green New Deal Energy Plans on Grid Stability, Costs, Jobs, Health, and Climate in 143 Countries,” was published in the journal One Earth and is also available as a PDF.

JetBlue is going JetGreen.

The airline announced plans Monday to become the first major US carrier to go carbon-neutral amid growing concerns about the industry’s contributions to climate change.

JetBlue said it will offset carbon dioxide emissions from all domestic flights starting in July by investing in environmentally friendly projects around the world, such as forest conservation and wind farms.

“By offsetting all of our domestic flying, we’re preparing our business for the lower-carbon economy that aviation — and all sectors — must plan for,” JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said in a statement.

JetBlue also pledged to start using sustainable fuel made entirely from “waste and residue raw materials” on all flights out of San Francisco in the middle of this year. The fuel has a carbon footprint as much as 80 percent smaller than standard fossil jet fuel, the company said.

JetBlue didn’t disclose the cost of either program.

The airline has previously offset emissions from flights during certain times of the year. But the expansion of the effort is expected to cancel out 15 billion to 17 billion pounds of emissions each year — the equivalent of taking more than 1.5 million vehicles off the road, JetBlue said.

JetBlue’s move follows in the footsteps of the British budget airline easyJet, which announced plans in November to offset carbon emissions from all its flights.

The shifts come amid criticism from environmental activists that emissions from planes are worsening the world’s increasingly dire climate crisis.

Teenage climate crusader Greta Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to New York for September’s United Nations summit rather than make the trip by air.

“By stopping flying you not only reduce your own carbon footprint but also that sends a signal to other people around you that the climate crisis is a real thing,” Thunberg reportedly said in August.

JetBlue shares were trading down 1 percent at $18.37 as of 10:24 a.m. Monday.

Wind group Vestas unveiled a target to become carbon-neutral by 2030 at the start of a sustainability push that it said will also set ambitious goals for its supply chain.

Vestas – the world’s largest supplier of wind turbines – is targeting a 55% cut in CO2 from its footprint by 2025, hitting 100% by 2030 in a move it said will be a key plank of its wider drive to become a global leader in sustainable energy.

The Danish OEM said the cuts will be achieved by its own corporate actions rather than via carbon offsets, starting with a move to electric vehicles for its company car fleet this year. While its commercial premises have been renewable-powered for five years, it will “explore further steps” for decarbonising heating and transport.

Vestas made clear the decarbonisation push will encompass its supply chain as it moves “to take full responsibility for the company’s environmental footprint”.

It will seek “sustainability partnerships” with suppliers as it seeks to cut emissions from its supply chain by 45% per MWh generated by 2030. The OEM said that metric had been chosen “because it incentivises sustainability partnerships with suppliers that both reduce CO2 emissions and allows for the continued growth of the global renewable energy sector”.

Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen said: “To remain at the forefront of the energy transition we must do even more than today to meet the growing sustainability expectations of our customers, partners, investors and employees.

“Our commitment to become carbon-neutral is the right thing to do for all of us. Together, we will not just make products that build a more sustainable planet, but we will do so in the most sustainable way possible.”

The Danish group will pursue the carbon-neutral goal under the umbrella of the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTI), which is backed by the Carbon Disclosure Project, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute and the WWF.

Construction has started on one of Michigan’s largest solar power farms.

The $250 million Assembly Solar Project in Shiawassee County’s Hazelton and Venice townships is hitting full swing with earth moving work.

The project is expected to support more than 300 jobs during construction and create economic activity of $16 million around Shiawassee County, according to owner Ranger Power.

“The Assembly Solar Project will create new jobs and contribute to the economic growth of Shiawassee County and the region,” said Paul Harris, president of Ranger Power.

McCarthy Building Companies, which is the lead construction contractor for the project, already hired 25 employees from Mid-Michigan in 2019 and plans to hire 250 more workers from the region in 2020.

“The Assembly Solar Project is a big win for our community, bringing jobs and much needed tax revenue to Shiawassee County,” said Justin Horvath, president and CEO of the Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership. “This project is pumping tax revenue into Shiawassee County, and schools, small businesses like restaurants and hardware stores, libraries and fire and police services, as well as roads and bridges all stand the benefit from this project.”

Electricity generated by the 1,200 acres of solar panels will go the power grid. The Lansing Board of Water & Light is participating in the project to provide its customers with 30 percent clean energy by 2020 and 40 percent by 2030.

When complete, Ranger Power says the Assembly Solar project will reduce carbon emissions by 394,000 tons annually.

It’s been a long time coming, but vintage solar energy storage research dating back to the 1980s (and beyond) is finally bearing fruit. In the latest development, scientists at the University of Houston in Texas have demonstrated proof of life for a hybrid device that collects and stores sunlight in the form of heat for 24/7 use. Nope, it’s not a concentrating solar system and it doesn’t rely on molten salt or specialized oils. It involves norbornadiene-quadricyclane, something fairly new on the CleanTechnica radar.

Energy Storage With Norbornadiene-Quadricyclane

Norbornadiene-quadricyclane has been studied for solar energy storage since at least 1983, when the American Chemical Society published a paper aptly titled, “Norbornadiene-quadricyclane system in the photochemical conversion and storage of solar energy” in the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Process Design and Development.

The research toddled along slowly until a veritable volcano of new papers erupted in recent years. A 2016 study by a team of researchers in Sweden nails down the reason for the fresh burst of activity (emphasis added):

“Molecular photoswitches that are capable of storing solar energy, so-called molecular solar thermal storage systems, are interesting candidates for future renewable energy applications. In this context, substituted norbornadiene-quadricyclane systems have received renewed interest due to recent advances in their synthesis.“

Wait, What Is Norbornadiene-Quadricyclane?

Got all that? Compared to the olden days, nowadays a norbornadiene-quadricyclane system can be tailored more precisely for peak performance.

As for what norbornadiene-quadricyclane is, that’s the easy part. It’s a compound of two hydrocarbons (aka organic molecules), norbornadiene and quadricyclane.

And now for the super interesting part. Remember back in high school when isomers were a thing? In chemistry, isomers are two or more chemical compounds that have the same kind and number of atoms. The atoms are configured differently in each isomer, meaning that each isomer has different properties.

Using solar energy in the form of heat to “flip” one isomer to another is the heart of a norbornadiene-quadricyclane energy storage system.

Sunlight creates a reaction in norbornadiene, transforming it into quadricyclane. The switch from one to the other is also a switch from low energy state to a high energy state, which is where the energy storage angle comes in.

Solar Energy Storage Breakthrough, Texas Edition

The potential for high energy density in a norbornadiene-quadricyclane storage system is coming to light, which explains all the interest from renewable energy researchers.

That finally brings us to the University of Houston in Texas. Last fall a team of scientists at the school cooked up a new norbornadiene-quadricyclane solar energy storage device that solves a number of problems that have been blocking the way to commercial development.

By combining solar energy harvesting with energy storage in a single hybrid system, the new device avoids losses that occurs when energy is transferred from a collection device to a storage platform.

The result is a high-density system that can can convert solar energy for immediate use and store the excess, as the researchers describe in the journal Joule:

“Here, we combine the physics of molecular energy and latent heat storage to introduce an integrated, simultaneous harvesting and storage hybrid paradigm for potential 24/7 energy delivery. The hybrid paradigm utilizes heat localization during the day to provide a harvesting efficiency of 73% at small scale and ∼90% at large scale.”

That’s just for starters. The team also writes that “remarkably, at night, the stored energy by the hybrid system is recovered with an efficiency of 80% and at a higher temperature than that of the day, in contrast to all of the state-of-the-art systems.”

If that sounds a little on the high side, consider that conventional solar cells only capture part of the light spectrum. In contrast, the new system can collect the entire spectrum.

So, what are the next steps? It might involve applying the hybrid setup to different compounds, with an eye toward optimizing performance and scaling up. CleanTechnica is reaching out to the researchers for an update, so stay tuned for more on that.

Meanwhile, it will be a long time before the new system challenges concentrating solar power for a place on the bulk solar thermal storage shelf. Here in the US, the Department of Energy is still banking on concentrating solar as part of a scheme to put conventional power plants in mothballs.

Hybrid wind-solar farms with storage are also emerging as a force to be reckoned with for 24/7 electricity generation from renewables. Coal is already on the way out for power generation in the US, and it’s only a matter of time before renewables give natural gas the boot, too.