Upcoming
Event
Webinar: We Have the Technologies and Tools. It is Time to Raise Climate Ambition
The Business Council for Sustainable Energy
September 20, 2021, 4:00 to 5:00 pm ET
This webinar will focus on how existing solutions can deliver near-term emissions reductions to help countries meet more ambitious targets, and what innovative solutions are in the pipeline.
Program
Host & Moderator: Lisa Jacobson, President, Business Council for Sustainable Energy
Armchair Interviews with:
George R. Oliver, CEO, Johnson Controls
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO, Schneider Electric
Paul Camuti, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Trane Technologies
Panel Discussion with:
Kevin Rabinovitch, Global Vice President, Sustainability, Mars, Inc.
Renae Kezar, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, Johnson Controls
Jeannie Salo, Vice President, Government Relations, Schneider Electric
Scott Tew, Vice President, Sustainability & Managing Director, Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, Trane Technologies
This webinar is hosted by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy in conjunction with National Clean Energy Week and Climate Week NYC.
Upcoming
Event
Webinar: Investing in Mitigation and Resilience Together
The Business Council for Sustainable Energy
September 23, 2021,1:00 to 2:00 pm ET
This panel will make the case to invest in clean energy and energy efficiency and sustainability solutions that both enhance resilience and advance the transition towards the creation of net-zero economies.
Speakers
Mark Feasel, President, Smart Grid North America, Schneider Electric
Sharon Tomkins, Vice President, Sustainability, Sempra Energy
Harry Verhaar, Head of Global Public & Government Affairs, Signify
Katherine Hammack, Director, Special Projects, U.S. Green Building Council
Moderator: Lisa Jacobson, President, Business Council for Sustainable Energy
News
US and EU target 30% cutting methane emissions by 2030
Reuters
Sep 14, 2021
Their pact comes as Washington and Brussels seek to galvanize other major economies ahead of a world summit to address climate change in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, and could have a significant impact on the energy, agriculture and waste industries responsible for the bulk of methane emissions.
The greenhouse gas methane, the biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2), is facing more scrutiny as governments seek solutions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, a goal of the Paris climate agreement.
In an attempt to jumpstart the action, the United States and the EU later this week will make a joint pledge to reduce human-caused methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, compared with 2020 levels, according to a draft of the Global Methane Pledge seen by Reuters.... BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union have agreed to aim to cut emissions of the planet-warming gas methane by around a third by the end of this decade and are pushing other major economies to join them, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Their pact comes as Washington and Brussels seek to galvanize other major economies ahead of a world summit to address climate change in Glasgow, Scotland, in November, and could have a significant impact on the energy, agriculture and waste industries responsible for the bulk of methane emissions.
The greenhouse gas methane, the biggest cause of climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2), is facing more scrutiny as governments seek solutions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, a goal of the Paris climate agreement.
In an attempt to jumpstart the action, the United States and the EU later this week will make a joint pledge to reduce human-caused methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030, compared with 2020 levels, according to a draft of the Global Methane Pledge seen by Reuters.
News
DOE Releases Solar Futures Study Providing the Blueprint for a Zero-Carbon Grid
U.S. DOE
Sep 8, 2021
The study’s findings call for massive and equitable deployment of clean energy sources, underscoring the Biden Administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis and rapidly increase access to renewable power throughout the country. ... The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released the Solar Futures Study detailing the significant role solar will play in decarbonizing the nation’s power grid. The study shows that by 2035, solar energy has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity, drive deep decarbonization of the grid, and employ as much as 1.5 million people—without raising electricity prices.
The study’s findings call for massive and equitable deployment of clean energy sources, underscoring the Biden Administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis and rapidly increase access to renewable power throughout the country.
“The study illuminates the fact that solar, our cheapest and fastest-growing source of clean energy, could produce enough electricity to power all of the homes in the U.S. by 2035 and employ as many as 1.5 million people in the process,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Achieving this bright future requires a massive and equitable deployment of renewable energy and strong decarbonization polices – exactly what is laid out in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.”
In 2020, the U.S. installed a record amount of solar—15 gigawatts (GWac)—to total 76 GW, representing 3% of the current electricity supply. The Solar Futures Study, prepared by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, shows that, by 2035, the United States would need to quadruple its yearly solar capacity additions and provide 1,000 GW of power to a renewable-dominant grid. By 2050, solar energy could provide 1,600 GW on a zero-carbon grid—producing more electricity than consumed in all residential and commercial buildings in the country today. Decarbonizing the entire energy system could result in as much as 3,000 GW of solar by 2050 due to increased electrification in the transportation, buildings, and industrial sectors.
The study lays out the blueprint for achieving this milestone, which requires strong decarbonization polices coupled with a massive deployment of renewable energy sources, large-scale electrification, and grid modernization. The study’s key findings include:
A clean grid requires massive, equitable deployment of diverse, sustainable energy sources — The U.S. must install an average of 30 GW of solar capacity per year between now and 2025 and 60 GW per year from 2025-2030. The study’s modeling further shows the remainder of a carbon-free grid largely supplied by wind (36%), nuclear (11%-13%), hydroelectric (5%-6%) and biopower/geothermal (1%).
A decarbonized power sector will create millions of cross-sector jobs – The study modeling shows that solar will employ 500,000 to 1.5 million people across the country by 2035. And overall, the clean energy transition will generate around 3 million jobs across technologies.
New tools that increase grid flexibility, like storage and advanced inverters, as well as transmission expansion, will help to move solar energy to all pockets of America – Wind and solar combined will provide 75% of electricity by 2035 and 90% by 2050, transforming the electricity system. The deployment of storage enables more flexibility and resilience, growing from 30 GW to nearly 400 GW in 2035 and 1,700 GW in 2050. Advanced tools like grid-forming inverters, forecasting, and microgrids will play a role in maintaining the reliability and performance a renewable-dominant grid.
A renewable-based grid will create significant health and cost savings – Reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality result in savings of $1.1 trillion to $1.7 trillion, far outweighing the additional costs incurred from transitioning to clean energy. The projected price of electricity for consumers does not rise by 2035, because the costs are fully offset by savings from technological improvements.
Supportive decarbonization policies and advanced technologies are needed to further reduce the cost of solar energy —Without some combination of limits on carbon emissions and mechanisms to incentivize clean energy, the U.S. cannot fully decarbonize the grid—models show that grid emissions fall only 60% without policy. Continued technological advances that lower the cost of solar energy are also necessary to enable widespread solar deployment.
News
NewHydrogen provides additional details on its research to lower the cost of green hydrogen
Energy Central
Sep 7, 2021
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers are typically used when the available green electricity supply is intermittent in nature such as solar or wind. PEM electrolyzers, however, currently require high-cost catalysts that use rare earth metals such as iridium. These precious metal-based catalysts are not only expensive but also need to be replaced quite often. NewHydrogen’s focus, therefore, is to replace iridium with much more stable non-precious metal-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts that not only cost less but also last much longer (and therefore do not need to be replaced as often).
The materials required for alkaline electrolyzers are relatively inexpensive compared to those for PEM electrolyzers. However, the alkaline electrolyzer technology is notably less efficient than that of PEM electrolyzers, thus requiring very large machinery to produce an equivalent amount of hydrogen. Anion exchange membrane (AEM) based electrolysis system attempts to combine alkaline electrolyzers’ cost savings with PEM’s performance. NewHydrogen is also developing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts for use with AEM electrolyzers.
Extreme weather around the world is disrupting existing energy systems and reinforces the need to accelerate the timeline for a clean energy transition. CNBC’s recent report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed that the change in global surface temperature from 1850-2020 is greater than any period in more than 2000 years. The catastrophic weather patterns resulting from this change have created climate instability and severe damage around the world.
Along with industry leaders, NewHydrogen attended the recent U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hydrogen Shot Summit, DOE's first Energy Earthshots Initiative. Research sponsored by NewHydrogen aims to support the DOE goal to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80% to $1 per kilogram in a decade.
“One kilogram of hydrogen has the same energy potential as a gallon of gasoline, but hydrogen has the advantage of simply turning into water vapor when used as fuel,” said Dr. David Lee, NewHydrogen’s CEO. “Research funded by NewHydrogen is focused on lowering the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable sources, creating a clean energy source that does not pollute.”
News
Microgrid Advocates Push Back as Utility Challenges Standby Rate Change
Microgrid Knowledge
Sep 7, 2021
The issue, now before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), centers on the commission’s mid-July decision to suspend the capacity reservation component of the standby charge for eligible microgrids. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has asked the commission to revisit the decision.
The “Track 3” decision was part of the commission’s multiphase effort to spur the commercial development of microgrids.
Standby charges are fees utilities use to cover their costs to keep power supply at-the-ready for self-generation customers should their systems stop producing electricity.
The charges, which total about 2 cents per kWh in California, can make microgrid projects financially unviable, according to microgrid advocates.
The initiative is in response to SB 1339, legislation that directed the CPUC to remove barriers to microgrid development, “without shifting costs between ratepayers.”
In its Aug. 16 rehearing request, SDG&E said the commission’s decision created an illegal cost shift between customer groups.
In a joint filing, the Microgrid Resources Coalition (MRC), the National Fuel Cell Research Center and the Green Power Institute on Aug. 31 said the utility misinterpreted the prohibition on cost shifting. Bloom echoed the concern in separate comments.
SDG&E adopted an “inappropriately narrow” definition of cost shifting, according to the MRC.
“SDG&E suggests that any costs borne by ratepayers who don’t directly benefit from microgrids is prohibited,” the coalition said.
The utility’s argument ignores three years of public safety planned shutoffs (PSPS) that have been wreaking havoc on the California grid and on critical facilities, the coalition said. PSPS happen when utilities institute blackouts to reduce the chance utility equipment could spark a wildfire.
“It is not cost shifting to adopt microgrid-related policies, which help to harden the grid and protect critical facilities, because it is incontrovertible that all ratepayers benefit from such policies — and particularly those in at-risk areas from PSPS and other shutoff events this summer and in later years,” the coalition said.
News
HEATLEAP AIMS TO VALORISE WASTE HEAT FOR ENHANCED ENERGY EFFICIENCY
COGEN Europe
Sep 7, 2021
As European industry often releases heat into the atmosphere without reusing it, a powerful energy source is wasted. By reusing and recovering waste heat, energy intensive industries can become much more efficient, competitive and climate friendly. Currently, it is difficult to capture and use low-grade waste heat, which are temperatures below 70 °C, with conventional technologies.
In the European energy landscape of today, natural gas plays a key role and accounts for approximately 25% of the EU's energy mix. Gas expanders bring environmental benefits and enhance the energy efficiency of a natural gas distribution network, by producing electricity when the pressure of the gas is reduced.
Paolo Bertuzzi, CEO of Turboden and coordinator of the project, comments: “We are delighted to showcase our portfolio of solutions for the valorisation of residual waste heat in this innovative project. Heat pumps and gas expanders will play a central role in the decarbonisation of energy intensive industries and utilities, thereby achieving the objectives of the EU Green Deal. As Turboden, we are focusing on delivering high temperature heat/low pressure steam to industrial customers and utilities.”
Luca Rigoni, CEO of A2A calore e servizi, added: “The HEATLEAP project represents another important contribution to the A2A strategy in reusing the available waste heat at local level. It is our main goal to recover waste heat available from industry to boost the decarbonisation path of our cities by making the heating and cooling sector more resilient and sustainable. We are very proud to support this innovative project and bring our experience as leader in District Heating.”
The HEATLEAP project is funded under the LIFE programme. The project partners are Turboden, ORI Martin, Rina Consulting, CSMT and COGEN Europe.
Combined Heat & Power eCatalog of Recognized Package CHP Systems
Packaged CHP Systems:
Rigorous Recognition Process
The Packaged Combined Heat and Power Catalog (eCatalog) is a voluntary public/private partnership designed to increase deployment of CHP in commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings and manufacturing plants. The core of the eCatalog are CHP Packagers who commit to provide pre-engineered and tested Packaged CHP systems that meet or exceed DOE performance requirements and CHP Solution Providers who commit to provide responsible installation, commissioning, maintenance and service of recognized Packaged CHP systems and also provide a single point of project responsibility.
Customer Engagement Partners: Incentivizing CHP in Your Area
Maximize Your CHP Investment When You Install Recognized Systems
An essential element in market success of energy efficient technologies, such as CHP, is a robust customer engagement partner to educate end-users and provide assistance through the project development process. States, localities and utilities that are implementing programs and policies to increase the use of CHP in support of key economic, security, efficiency and environmental goals can integrate the eCatalog into their efforts by linking recognized CHP packages offered by Solution Providers or Packagers in their region to their programs. The eCatalog provides a unique platform for convening recognized CHP equipment and suppliers with state, local and utility market outreach, customer acquisition and incentive programs.
eCATALOG PACKAGED CHP SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
Packaged CHP System standardized1 electrical and thermal performance data presented for comparison in the eCatalog have been reviewed and recognized as accurate based on engineering data and available performance test data submitted by the Packagers. Emissions data presented in the eCatalog are based on either third-party emissions test results when available, or prime mover manufacture’s emissions certification data, both using standard EPA test methodologies or equivalent. When evaluating CHP performance for a particular project, it is important to use final performance data from the Packager or Solution Provider that reflects specific site conditions such as actual fuel characteristics, ambient temperatures and altitude, and thermal load temperatures or pressures. As an example, hot water thermal capacity ratings in the eCatalog are based on a standard hot water supply temperature of 180 F, with packager specified return temperatures for each system. Actual hot water available from a packaged CHP system for a project will depend on the specific temperature requirements of the hot water supply and return at the site, and may vary from data presented in the eCatalog.
“Even a small blip on the power grid can disrupt our production equipment and cause six to eight hours of lost production time. With the CHP systems, if there is a power blip we go into island mode and don't experience any disruption.”
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