Around The Web

Kokam delivers 30 megawatt energy storage system to Alinta Energy: Largest lithium ion battery deployed for an industrial application in Australia

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2018-05-16 10:50
Kokam's Ultra High Power Lithium-ion NMC battery technology cost-effectively provides the high-power output needed for spinning reserve, ancillary services, mining, off-shore drilling and other utility and industrial applications.
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Dinosaur parenting: How the 'chickens from hell' nested

BBC - Wed, 2018-05-16 10:48
Dinosaurs may have used a unique nesting strategy to prevent their eggs from being crushed.
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ARENA offers $7m for more solar and wind farm FCAS trials

RenewEconomy - Wed, 2018-05-16 10:13
ARENA provides $7m to encourage more wind, solar and battery parks to provide grid services such as frequency and voltage.
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MPs criticise government clean energy policies

BBC - Wed, 2018-05-16 09:01
Two parliamentary committees say ill-thought out policies have driven down clean energy investment.
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CP Daily: Tuesday May 15, 2018

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 07:51
A daily summary of our news plus bite-sized updates from around the world.
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Plantwatch: glyphosate is only way to manage Japanese knotweed

The Guardian - Wed, 2018-05-16 06:30

Japanese knotweed is said to cost UK economy £170m a year, but so far only solution is controversial glyphosate-based herbicide

Japanese knotweed is a thug of a plant capable of growing a foot a week at this time of year; it spreads rapidly from underground rhizomes; erodes riverbanks, leading to flooding; smothers other plants; blocks drains and wreaks such havoc on homes and gardens that it blights property prices. It is estimated that controlling Japanese knotweed costs the UK economy about £170m each year. An entire industry has been built on trying to control the plant, using at least 15 different active control methods. There is, however, no impartial study of how effective any of these treatments are.

Scientists at Swansea University recently concluded the world’s largest field trial over five years on tackling Japanese knotweed. Their depressing assessment is that eradicating the plant using weedkillers is useless, and so too are physical methods such as covering up and cutting down knotweed.

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Curious Kids: 'I would like to know why man lions have manes and lady lions don't'

The Conversation - Wed, 2018-05-16 06:19
People used to think that boy lions had big shaggy manes to protect their necks from being bitten or scratched during fights. But scientists soon realised this idea didn't make much sense. Nadya Sotnychuk, PhD candidate, University of New England Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
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Analysts predict undersubscribed WCI auction while revising down price forecasts

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 06:00
Market participants should expect an under-subscribed WCI auction this quarter along with more modest price increases in the medium-to-long term, according to analysts.
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EU ETS rules work to block cleaner industrial innovations -Sandbag

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 04:49
The EU’s efforts to decarbonise heavy industry are being undermined by ETS benchmarking rules that systematically block cleaner industrial alternatives from getting a foothold, according to environmental campaigner group Sandbag.
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EU Market: EUAs slide 4% after hitting fresh 7-yr high near €15

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 04:44
EU carbon prices slumped on Tuesday after extending a recent seven-year high in early trade and following another weak auction.
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Batteries included in energy storage ideas | Letters

The Guardian - Wed, 2018-05-16 03:28
Whatever the WWF says, peak demand for gas-fired generation will be larger, says Steve Bolter, while Chris Underwood pours cold water on the IMechE’s hydrogen proposal

The WWF has been oversimplistic in its argument that no further gas-fired power stations are needed (Report, 14 May). The forecast increase in annual renewable electricity production is only just sufficient to balance the closure of coal-fired electricity generation and the fall in nuclear generation resulting from the retirement of many of our nuclear power stations (most of which are already working beyond their design lives). However, this does not mean more no more gas generation capacity is needed. Electricity demand varies, and renewables are intermittent. There has to be enough capacity to meet demand at all times.

While pump storage systems and batteries are able to store enough energy to cope with short-term variations in demand and the availability of renewable generation, it would not be environmentally friendly, efficient or cost-effective to use such systems to store energy from summer to winter, or even to store enough to survive a long midwinter period of high pressure over the North Sea.

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Hedging rates eased for many EU utilities in Q1 as EUAs soared, data suggests

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 03:08
European utilities were relatively quiet in the rallying EUA market over Q1, company results suggest, representing potentially bullish news for prices as generators may now need to accelerate their EUA buying.
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MSR to withdraw 265 mln EU carbon allowances from market by Aug. 2019

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 02:26
Almost 265 million EU carbon allowances will be withdrawn from the over-supplied EU ETS in the first eight months of 2019 and inserted into the MSR when it launches early next year, the European Commission announced late on Tuesday.
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IBM, Veridium unveil blockchain-based offset trading platform, with initial focus on REDD

Carbon Pulse - Wed, 2018-05-16 01:15
IBM and Veridium Labs have teamed up to launch a blockchain-based platform to transform carbon offsets into digital tokens for trade on a decentralised exchange, the companies announced on Tuesday.
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UK parliament to remove single-use plastics from Westminster

The Guardian - Wed, 2018-05-16 00:23

Almost all single use plastics, including coffee cups, bags and water bottles will be replaced with compostable or reusable versions by 2019

The UK parliament has unveiled a package of measures to “virtually eliminate” single-use plastics from Westminster in the next year.

The move will see a range of items – from coffee cups to straws, plastic bags to water bottles – removed from the parliamentary estate, to be replaced by compostable or reuseable options by 2019.

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London considering car-free days in bid to tackle air pollution

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-05-15 22:40

City Hall sources say mayor is hoping to introduce separate car-free days in each borough this year, with ‘more ambitious plans’ for 2019

London is considering introducing car-free days in an attempt to tackle the city’s air pollution crisis that experts say is responsible for thousands of early deaths each year.

Officials at City Hall were due to meet on Tuesday to examine how best to roll out a ban across specific areas of the capital on different days this year - with “more ambitious plans” in the pipeline for 2019.

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German supreme court upholds Deutsche Bank EU ETS tax fraud convictions

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 20:32
A former Deutsche Bank sales manager has been jailed by Germany’s federal supreme court for three years for his role in facilitating tax fraud through the EU carbon market.
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Timor-Leste's incredible marine life – in pictures

The Guardian - Tue, 2018-05-15 20:24

Situated in the heart of the ‘coral triangle’, this young nation boasts some of the most biodiverse waters in the world. As it emerges from years of unrest, it now faces the challenge of protecting its coasts, and the communities that rely on them, in the face of growing development

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South Korea weighs shifting international offset target to ETS

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 19:04
South Korea has pledged to meet a third of its Paris target through buying international carbon credits, and is now considering pushing that responsibility over to companies in its emissions trading scheme rather than spending taxpayer funds.
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China coal consumption soars amid manufacturing boom

Carbon Pulse - Tue, 2018-05-15 18:46
Coal-fired power generation in China rose 7.3% y/y in April, outpacing overall power output amid an ongoing manufacturing boom threatening to derail efforts to curb carbon emissions.
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