Henry Harrell"s Blog: June 18 Green Energy News

Headline News:

President Donald Trump ordered a rescue of the nation’s struggling coal and nuclear power industries, but that does not mean utilities are reconsidering the shutdown of unprofitable plants. Many said Trump has not altered their plans to retire old units despite the prospect of his trying to force grid operators to buy power from old plants. [Bloomberg]

Cross Generating Station (Photo: Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg)

In a world first, Siemens is opening a £1.5-million pilot project in Oxfordshire employing ammonia as a form of energy storage. The proof-of-concept facility will turn electricity, water, and air into ammonia without releasing carbon emissions. The ammonia can be stored and burned for electricity, sold as a fuel, or used for industrial purposes. [businessgreen.com]
“Global warming cooks up ‘a different world’ over 3 decades” • We were warned. On June 23, 1988, a sultry day in Washington, Dr James Hansen told Congress that global warming was not approaching – it had already arrived. Thirty years later, it’s clear that Hansen and other doomsayers were right. And the change has been sweeping. [The Denver Post]
Tesla’s cobalt usage will soon be a thing of the past if Elon Musk has his way. And it makes sense. Cobalt prices are soaring. There is an ethical dilemma with cobalt’s primary sourcing, as much of its mining is tainted with corruption and human rights violations, including child labor. And Panasonic announced it is developing cobalt-free batteries. [CleanTechnica]
Eastern Australia is home to the world’s largest battery. It is increasingly integrating renewable energy into one of the world’s longest interconnected energy systems. And in the past six months, about 180 MW of new demand response resources have entered the ancillary services markets. The effects on obsolete technology are disruptive. [RenewEconomy]

Henry Harrell"s Blog