Global warming strikes again...

[Samson]

Solution for ocean freight?

Oceanbird might look like a ship of the future, but it harks back to ancient maritime history -- because it's powered by the wind.
The transatlantic car carrier is being designed by Wallenius Marine, a Swedish shipbuilder, with support from the Swedish government and several research institutions.

With capacity for 7,000 vehicles, the 650 foot-long vessel is a similar size to conventional car carriers, but it will look radically different. The ship's hull is topped by five telescopic "wing sails," each 260 feet tall. Capable of rotating 360 degrees without touching each other, the sails can be retracted to 195 feet in order to clear bridges or withstand rough weather.
The sails, which will be made of steel and composite materials, need to be this size to generate enough propulsive power for the 35,000-ton ship.
​

 

[Hrothbern]

Solution for ocean freight?

Oceanbird might look like a ship of the future, but it harks back to ancient maritime history -- because it's powered by the wind.
The transatlantic car carrier is being designed by Wallenius Marine, a Swedish shipbuilder, with support from the Swedish government and several research institutions.

With capacity for 7,000 vehicles, the 650 foot-long vessel is a similar size to conventional car carriers, but it will look radically different. The ship's hull is topped by five telescopic "wing sails," each 260 feet tall. Capable of rotating 360 degrees without touching each other, the sails can be retracted to 195 feet in order to clear bridges or withstand rough weather.
The sails, which will be made of steel and composite materials, need to be this size to generate enough propulsive power for the 35,000-ton ship.
​

I think there will be three main factors to compare sailing with fossil engines.
1. freight movement per capital (important is the lower speed in this example doubling the nr of ships needing higher capital), (benching per shipping route because of prevailing winds etc)
2. capital cost (at zero risk only the interest counts in the cost per freight movement calculations)
3. cost to wash out CO2 from the atmosphere (which converts mainly to the capital needed for washers and therefore adds to thecapital needed for the ship)

Low interest rates are helpful.
From what I remember from designing sailing ships is that you cannot scale up properly because of stability (sailing surface to wet surface rate comes into difficulties at higher scale and lower rates means lower speed, whereby longer lenght is asked for because of less wave resistance needed for higher speed)

Another remark:
It could be that traditional engines using synthetic oil (from washers) or using biofuel (from seaweed) have higher freight per total capital.

From what I can see the sail plan fits well the North Atlantic route between America and Europe where thereis also enough wind of the on average good directions for both sailing both ways.

 

[Samson]

Shell taken to court for knowing about climate change and doing nothing

A court in The Hague will hear claims that Royal Dutch Shell has broken Dutch law by knowingly hampering the global phase-out of fossil fuels, in a case that could force the company to reduce its CO2 emissions.
Lawyers for a consortium led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands will argue on the first of four days of public hearings on Tuesday that Shell has been aware for decades of the damage it has inflicted and is acting unlawfully by expanding its fossil fuel operations.​

It is not stated here, but the TV is saying that they had a report about climate change, and raised the length of the legs of an oil platform 2m (Stroll II?). The same court held the Dutch state responsible last year. The campaigners are not seeking compensation, but action now.

 

[Hrothbern]

Shell taken to court for knowing about climate change and doing nothing

A court in The Hague will hear claims that Royal Dutch Shell has broken Dutch law by knowingly hampering the global phase-out of fossil fuels, in a case that could force the company to reduce its CO2 emissions.
Lawyers for a consortium led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands will argue on the first of four days of public hearings on Tuesday that Shell has been aware for decades of the damage it has inflicted and is acting unlawfully by expanding its fossil fuel operations.​

It is not stated here, but the TV is saying that they had a report about climate change, and raised the length of the legs of an oil platform 2m (Stroll II?). The same court held the Dutch state responsible last year. The campaigners are not seeming compensation, but action now.

Key in the movement's arguments is that Shell is A. fully aware of the devastating effects of CO2 since decades and B. that despite that the CEO Ben van Beurden has stated that he would give full throttle on the fossil course
(in practice > 95% of investments are fossil)
This is in violation with the care duty a company has under Dutch Law.

 

[Samson]

The first possible good news I have read on the topic? I am not sure I believe it.

The recent wave of net zero targets has put the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C within striking distance. The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) has calculated that global warming by 2100 could be as low as 2.1°C as a result of all the net zero pledges announced as of November 2020.
Included in our new modelling is the announcement by China in September 2020 that it intends to reach carbon neutrality before 2060, which reduces the CAT end of century warming estimate by 0.2 to 0.3°C alone. Assuming carbon neutrality in the USA by 2050, as proposed by President-Elect Biden, would reduce warming by another 0.1°C. South Africa, Japan, South Korea and Canada have also recently announced net-zero targets. In total, 127 countries responsible for around 63% of emissions are considering or have adopted net zero targets.​

Spoiler More pictures :

 

[warpus]

Funny how we're still trending up, but for some reason we're optimistic that *tomorrow* we will start taking this whole thing seriously, and that's when all these values will start dropping.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Emera’s microgrid gains national traction

First neighborhood project underway

Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal

BY KEVIN ROBINSON-AVILA

JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Emera Technologies LLC is rolling out the nation’s first neighborhood- level, solar and batterypowered microgrid in Tampa, Fla., after developing and testing the system in Albuquerque. The company, a subsidiary of publicly traded utility firm Emera Inc., is partnering with Lennar Homes and the Metro Development Group to deploy its BlockEnergy microgrid next year on a new 40-home subdivision in the Southshore Bay master-planned community in Tampa, Vice President for Emerging Technologies Gary Oppedahl told the Albuquerque Economic Forum on Wednesday morning.

“Tampa is our first project,” Oppedahl said. “We also have two local projects under development in New Mexico. ... We’re ready to go.”

Emera Technologies built the system in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories and Kirtland Air Force Base, where it placed its first BlockEnergy test bed online in December 2019 to supply power to about a dozen base houses and installations.
“It’s been running completely hands-free at Kirtland since last December,” Oppedahl said. It’s a fully self-reliant plug-andplay microgrid designed to be owned and operated by utilities. The electric companies pay for all installation and maintenance at no cost to builders or homeowners, who simply pay a monthly electric bill for consumption like any other utility service.

That could markedly accelerate renewable-energy deployment in communities nationwide, because it turns neighborhood-level solar and battery generation into a utility asset, while removing upfront costs and risks for homeowners associated with individual rooftop systems, Oppedahl said. The system includes solar panels, battery storage and advanced control systems for every home in neighborhoods of up to 50 houses. All those individual systems are networked together and connected to a central control site that’s also connected to the broader utility grid.

The system automatically monitors and manages electric generation and distribution throughout the microgrid 24/7, ensuring a constant flow of energy where and when its needed. It’s completely self-contained, providing neighborhood- level resiliency against any service interruptions on a utility’s broader grid. Apart from residential neighborhoods, BlockEnergy resiliency could make the system very attractive for military installations, encouraging Kirtland and Sandia to partner on the pilot project in Albuquerque. “There’s talk now of expanding it to the entire base to help make Kirtland the ‘gold standard’ for energy resiliency,” Oppedahl said.

Tampa Electric Co., or TECO, is heading the first commercial BlockEnergy deployment in Florida. TECO is owned by Emera Inc., a $32 billion energy company that also owns the New Mexico Gas Co. Emera Technologies publicly unveiled its new microgrid system in October during the North America Smart Energy Week, an annual renewable energy industry conference and trade show.

 

[carlosMM]

The first possible good news I have read on the topic? I am not sure I believe it.

The recent wave of net zero targets has put the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C within striking distance. The Climate Action Tracker (CAT) has calculated that global warming by 2100 could be as low as 2.1°C as a result of all the net zero pledges announced as of November 2020.
Included in our new modelling is the announcement by China in September 2020 that it intends to reach carbon neutrality before 2060, which reduces the CAT end of century warming estimate by 0.2 to 0.3°C alone. Assuming carbon neutrality in the USA by 2050, as proposed by President-Elect Biden, would reduce warming by another 0.1°C. South Africa, Japan, South Korea and Canada have also recently announced net-zero targets. In total, 127 countries responsible for around 63% of emissions are considering or have adopted net zero targets.​

a) on paper - nice. In reality, most of these "targets" can't be met because there is so much fudging going on with how emissions are "counted" (e.g., 4x counting of "saved" emissions of electric cars - in reality, oil gets burned no matter what).
b) "neutrality" is usually "achieved" via "offsets" by buying certificate from "elsewhere" - go figure!
c) science-based, so "oh ****" positive feedbacks are UNDERREPRESENTED!

in short: no way can we reach any of this!

 

[Hrothbern]

The NorthH2 project in NL and the EU

Windmills produce DC electricity and longer distance transport needs to be done in AC for less energy losses needing conversion from DC to AC.
Windmills located offshore get more wind and the continental shelf of the North Sea, fit for windmill locations, is big and partially far away from the coast and electricity demand (cities, industry)
Converting AC electricity in H2 on artificial islands between windmill parks and then transporting to the energy demanding locations the efficient way to go.

Here below an article on the NorthH2 project where Groningen, a northern province of NL, until recently a giant supplier of natural gas and therefore an available logistical hub for transport into all directions of the EU with much available storage from now empty natural gas fields.
For lowest burden on transport:
* H2 is made offshore
* transport to other countries not following production but demand with storage along the piping of the North Sea and in the province of Groningen.

Governments could have set up green energy decades ago, but they did not, and did also not force fossil companies to transition.
Now everything needs to be done in a hurry and the project ends up with existing fossil companies transitioning with this project.
And oh irony... now the fossil companies and provincial government are going faster than the original Dutch national strategic plans as budgetted in the long year energy plan. Time to deliver some pepper to the Hague to spice up the people there.
Denmark is giving the good example with the Law that passed last week that CO2 will be reduced with 70% in 2030.

The German energy group RWE and the Norwegian Equinor have joined the plans for large-scale hydrogen production in Groningen. The NortH2 project of Shell, Gasunie and Groningen Seaports aims to turn the province into the heart of the European hydrogen economy after the natural gas era. According to research by the University of Groningen, the project could create 5,000 to 12,000 jobs. New wind farms above the Wadden Islands must supply electricity for the production of green hydrogen in a new factory in Eemshaven. This hydrogen can be stored in Groningen salt mines and transported via the existing 'thick pipes' from the Gasunie to industrial areas in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Zeeland and Limburg. These gas connections also cross the border towards Hamburg, the Ruhr area and Belgium.

Hydrogen is seen by energy companies as the 'future natural gas' for industrial and chemical processes that require temperatures that cannot be reached with electricity. Hydrogen is only green and sustainable if enough sustainably generated electricity is available. That is not yet the case and hydrogen is expensive to produce. Moreover, a relatively large amount of energy is lost when converting electricity to hydrogen. Still, according to more and more companies and governments in Europe, hydrogen is the future.

Although Minister Wiebes of Economic Affairs and Climate is a strong advocate of hydrogen, the cabinet is struggling with the way in which its production should be stimulated. To be ready for the future, we need to start scaling up production by building larger factories, but the current subsidy schemes are not designed for this.

No big decisions
Minister Wiebes sees opportunities for plans such as NorthH2, he announced in a letter to the Lower House last Friday. He also sees reasons to financially support the construction of hydrogen factories. The cabinet also thinks that more offshore wind farms should be built to achieve the climate goals. Nevertheless, the current cabinet, which is still in full function until March, will no longer make major decisions about the expansion of offshore wind and hydrogen.

However, everything is being investigated and prepared so that the next cabinet can make decisions after the elections. For example, new areas must quickly be designated for additional wind farms at sea. Network operator Tennet must make preparations to be able to connect these parks to the high-voltage network in time. There will also be research into the future production of hydrogen at sea.

The companies involved in NortH2 want to take hydrogen production offshore in the future. As the wind farms are built further out to sea, the costs of the DC connections will increase exponentially. It will probably be cheaper to build special factories on artificial islands or on large platforms than on the mainland. Existing gas pipelines at sea can then be used to bring the hydrogen ashore.

NortH2 is all about plans, final investment decisions have yet to be taken. The participation of RWE and Equinor does bring the realization of NortH2 closer, think those involved. RWE is already working on numerous hydrogen projects in Germany, including the construction of the largest hydrogen plant to date in Lingen, Germany. The German government is investing 9 billion euros in the expansion of hydrogen production.

Equinor, the former Norwegian Statoil, is engaged in a major sustainability effort. It will soon start construction of the world's largest wind farm on the Dogger Bank for the United Kingdom. Both Equinor and RWE are already active in Eemshaven.

Hydrogen economy
In Groningen, they hope that the next cabinet will take over the plans during the cabinet formation and that money will come from Europe and the Dutch Growth Fund. According to the companies involved, a new cabinet should further ensure a combined tender for offshore wind farms and hydrogen factories.

Numerous smaller companies in the North have also jointly presented investment plans worth 9 billion euros. Education in Groningen, both at MBO, HBO and university level, is already in the lead with courses that prepare students for the new hydrogen economy.

https://nos.nl/artikel/2359638-duit...doen-mee-aan-waterstofeconomie-groningen.html

 

[Samson]

Windmills produce DC electricity

Can you explain this bit? My school level understanding of electricity generation is you spin a coil of wire in a magnetic field, and depending on the arrangement of contacts you either get AC or DC. The principle is that same if you are spinning the wire by wind or burning coal, as are the choices between AC and DC..

 

[Hrothbern]

Can you explain this bit? My school level understanding of electricity generation is you spin a coil of wire in a magnetic field, and depending on the arrangement of contacts you either get AC or DC. The principle is that same if you are spinning the wire by wind or burning coal, as are the choices between AC and DC..

Windmills produce an unregulated AC (both voltage and frequency is unregulated) that is converted to DC. This is normally again converted to a regulated (both voltage and frequency) AC.
You can skip the second conversion by going straight from DC to H2.

All the energy losses happen on the offshore islands with the H2 factories. => your transport further downstream is already net energy for all prior steps reducing transport capacity needed.

 

[Samson]

Happy 5th Birthday The Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016.

Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

To achieve this long-term temperature goal, countries aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to achieve a climate neutral world by mid-century.

 

[Samson]

Renewables outstrip fossil fuels as the EU’s main source of power

Renewables overtook fossil fuels as the European Union’s main source of electricity for the first time in 2020 as new projects came online and coal power shrank, a report shows.
Denmark achieved the highest proportion of wind and solar power, which contributed 61 percent of its electricity needs in 2020. Ireland achieved 35 percent and Germany 33 percent.
Countries with the lowest share of renewables, below 5 percent, were Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the data showed.
Curbs on homes and businesses designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus led to a 4-percent drop in overall electricity demand in the EU last year, but the effects were felt more keenly by fossil fuel producers, the report showed.
Coal-fired power generation fell 20 percent in 2020 and has halved since 2015, it said.
​

What surprised me is that 25% of all EU electricity production is neither fossil fuel or renewable, which I guess means nuclear? I did not know there was that much.

 

[Hrothbern]

Renewables outstrip fossil fuels as the EU’s main source of power

Renewables overtook fossil fuels as the European Union’s main source of electricity for the first time in 2020 as new projects came online and coal power shrank, a report shows.
Denmark achieved the highest proportion of wind and solar power, which contributed 61 percent of its electricity needs in 2020. Ireland achieved 35 percent and Germany 33 percent.
Countries with the lowest share of renewables, below 5 percent, were Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the data showed.
Curbs on homes and businesses designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus led to a 4-percent drop in overall electricity demand in the EU last year, but the effects were felt more keenly by fossil fuel producers, the report showed.
Coal-fired power generation fell 20 percent in 2020 and has halved since 2015, it said.
​

What surprised me is that 25% of all EU electricity production is neither fossil fuel or renewable, which I guess means nuclear? I did not know there was that much.

I guess this graph is about energy from power plants, not the total energy incl housing heating, cars, industrial processes, etc.
For power plant only nuclear is approx 25% of total, which almost fits your graph
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/others/european-union.aspx#:~:text=The 109 nuclear power reactors,in only one country – France.

 

[EnglishEdward]

Solution for ocean freight?

Oceanbird might look like a ship of the future, but it harks back to ancient maritime history -- because it's powered by the wind.
The transatlantic car carrier is being designed by Wallenius Marine, a Swedish shipbuilder, with support from the Swedish government and several research institutions.

With capacity for 7,000 vehicles, the 650 foot-long vessel is a similar size to conventional car carriers, but it will look radically different. The ship's hull is topped by five telescopic "wing sails," each 260 feet tall. Capable of rotating 360 degrees without touching each other, the sails can be retracted to 195 feet in order to clear bridges or withstand rough weather.
The sails, which will be made of steel and composite materials, need to be this size to generate enough propulsive power for the 35,000-ton ship.
​

The Swedish government is providing Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg with her own yacht?

 

[Arakhor]

Do you normally refer to people with all their names?

 

[EnglishEdward]

Do you normally refer to people with all their names?

Well if that lady is important enough to have a yacht built for her,
it might be deemed impertinent of me to casually abbreviate her.

 

[Arakhor]

Where did you get the idea that the yacht was built for her?

 

[Kyriakos]

That ship looks hideous

 

[El_Machinae]

Well if that lady is important enough to have a yacht built for her,

Isn't it weird to be jealous of a kid who got famous for being more worried about future than adults are? Sure, she's famous because she's famous.

But people act as if tearing her down abdigates themselves of the moral responsibility they have towards people in her cohort