Interesting Reads

Wed, 2022-04-13 21:37 -- 6310456

Wave Energy

  • The UniWave200 Wave Energy Converter has won the EA Sir William Hudson Award – Australia’s highest accolade for an engineering project. Read more here.

  • Promising results from a wave energy trial in Scotland. Read more here.

Wind Energy

  • Here's a new type of wind power - Energy Kites! - (whatever next?). Read the article here.
  • There are plans for several huge offshore wind farms in Aus waters - mainly interstate, but SA has a "small" 600MW wind farm proposed (off the SE SA coast). Read more here.
  • BHP have secured renewable electric supplies to Olympic Dam from Neoen, who will produce it primarily at the "Goyder South" wind & solar project near Burra in SA's Mid-North. Read more here.

Direct Air Capture (DAC)

  • A recent discovery of a much more efficient direct-air-capture (DAC) system for CO2 removal from the atmosphere. Read the article here.
  • A new direct air capture method to trap carbon dioxide. It is reported to work with 99% efficiency. Read the article here.
  • Here's info about the Carbon Engineering Co. - (based in Canada) - WHO are performing  direct air capture (DAC) of CO2 - & sequestering it underground &/or producing liquid fuels from it in some cases. Read more here.
  • An Australian start-up, Co, who have developed a modular plant/process for DVAV of CO2. They are considering installing some in the Moomba gas fields in SA. Read more here. 

Solar PV and Thermal

  • Tindo produces higher-output solar panels at its new factory at Mawson Lakes. Read the article here.
  • Some interesting developments on solar panels - including ones that work at night! Read the article here.
  • The formerly planned SA "Aurora" project - Australian concentrated solar company Vast Solar has teamed up with another local thermal storage hopeful 1414 Degrees - announced plans in June 2022 to build a large scale solar thermal and storage plan near Port Augusta. Read the article here.
  • SA's electrical grid was effectively powered by solar PV alone on Sunday (16/10/22). Read more here.
  • One of the largest solar PV installations in the country (5MW) to be switched on at Tonsley Innovation district. Read more here.

Wind Energy

  • An argument for the pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) case in Australia. Read more here.

Transport

  • Jet engine builder, Rolls Royce have stated that their jet engines are compatible with 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Read more about it here.
  • Caterpillar have just demonstrated an electric-powered mining dump truck - one of the largest at 265t payload! Read more here.

Carbon Capture and Storage

  • The world's first solar-powered Carbon-capture & storage system is soon to be demonstrated & installed - possibly on old oil & gas reservoirs near Moomba. Read the article here.

Hydrogen

  • Transformation plan to turn the iconic Whyalla Steelworks into a world leading ‘GREENSTEEL’ facility. Read the article here.
  • News of an Australian discovery for H2 electrolysers – which could help bring green H2 costs down significantly. Read the article here.
  • Clean Hydrogen production via Thermo-Photocatalysis, which employs the sun’s radiation and thermal properties to convert water (directly) into hydrogen and oxygen.  Developed by researchers at Adelaide & Flinders Universities & now a SA-based company. Read the article here.
  • 10GW H2 Project near Tennant Creek, NT. Read the article here.
  • Hydrogen-powered aircraft claims record. Read the article here.
  • Naturally-occurring H2 was first discovered under SA in the 1930s - & now there are companies attempting to extract it! Read the article here.
  • Here's news of the world's largest H2-powered truck - it carries up to 290-tonne payload! Read the article here.
  • Here's a discovery of a new method for extracting hydrogen without direct water electrolysis - but by using an ethanol & water mixture.  It means that pure hydrogen would not need to be transported & stored. Read the article here.
  • SA Government calls for tenders for its $593 million hydrogen plant near Whyalla. Read the article here.
  • This WA start-up is developing a process to produce H2 from biomass (ag waste) in a carbon-negative process - it sounds like a win-win. Read the article here.
  • AGL have announced they are planning to establish a hydrogen hub on Torrens Island. Read the article here.
  • Article in the Weekend Australian of 25-26/6/22 headlined ”SA is poised to take a pioneering role in the production and export of renewable (green) hydrogen.” Read the article here.
  • This could be an Aus breakthrough for the separation, storage & transport of hydrogen - sounds promising. Read the article here.
  • Here's news of development of a process for direct extraction of H2 from water - by "photocatalysis" i.e. without electrolysers.  It would have many advantages. Read more here. 
  • Melbourne Uni researchers have developed a means of generating H2 from the air - by trapping moisture & electrolyzing the water recovered. This saves fresh water consumption & is said also to work in dry climates. Read more here.
  • The Government of SA is seeking partners for development of its planned electrolyser and hydrogen power plant at Whyalla. Read more here.

Hydro-Thermal Energy

  • A US company with new rock-drilling technology, which could be used to access deep hydrothermal energy throughout the world. Read more here.

Energy Storage

  • Aus truck conversions to battery-powered. Read the article here.
  • Here's a good use of CO2 - long term energy storage!  Read the article here.
  • A "new" type of storage - "Thermal Energy Storage" (TES) has recently been proposed for Torrens Island Power Station (SA).  Read more here.
  • News of an ARENA grant for setting up Thermal Energy Storage ("TES") at Torrens Island Power Station - (said to outlast batteries).  One of the technologies proposed is a recent Aus development - "Miscibility gap alloy" (MGA). Read more here.
  • The Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, aka the “Tesla big battery”, has finally gained approval to become the first big battery in the world to deliver grid-scale inertia services. Read more here.
  • A CO2 battery has been developed (in Italy) for long-term energy storage by the Energy Dome Co.  It's reportedly cheaper & longer lasting + more efficient?  than Li-ion batteries & is a closed-loop system - not releasing any of the CO2. Read more here.
  • News of a renewable energy generator's contract to supply base-load electricity from a wind farm & battery in SA - yet to be built. Read more here.
  • Neoen's latest big battery in Blyth, Mid-North SA. Read more here.
  • SA's Torrens Island Big Battery is soon to take this title away from the smaller Hornsdale battery ... read more here.
  • How grid-scale batteries helped to stabilise the SA grid when it was isolated from the NEM after the 12th November storm. Read more here.
  • ARENA has announced funding for 8 grid-scale batteries - including 2 in the Mid-North of SA. Read more here.

Renewable Energy

  • Renewable Energy generation sets new record of over 136% of SA demand on 18 April. Read the article here.
  • Here's an article on "electrofuels" - produced by combining H2 with CO2 captured from the atmosphere of industrial processes.  These can be used in existing engines.  All sounds great, but the catch is that they can be up to 7 times more expensive than fossil fuels! Read the article here.
  • Wind and large-scale solar farms set a new output record on 31 May. Read the article here.
  • June 2022 was a near- record month for renewable energy produced within the NEM. Read the article here.
  • SA produced an increased amount of renewable energy in the past financial year. Read the article here.
  • The AER says SA (elec grid) will reach 100% renewables by 2025!  Read the article here.
  • Ross Garnaut & Tim Flannery are in a (free) webinar on Tue 25 (from 4:30-6:15pm ACDT) - "The Superpower Transformation".Register here.
  • This is in NSW (but closer to Adelaide than Sydney) - ARENA have awarded a grant for compressed air energy storage (CAES) facility in an old mine in Broken Hill.  Read more here.
  • Ideas & Society: The SuperPower Transformation. Register and watch the webinar here. 
  • The Superpower Transformation: Making Australia's Zero-Carbon Future. Book written by Professor Ross Garnaut. Read it here.
  • Watch an interview with Dr Saul Griffith from Feb 2022 here.
  • Here's a review of how SA's (electrical grid) energy mix has changed over the last 6 years (since the blackout) - now dominated by renewables & a world leader in this regard. Read more here.
  • This new mining project - aiming for 100% renewable energy supply - is actually just over the WA border, but Oz Minerals are an SA-based company. Read more here.
  • SA could soon be the first major elec grid to run entirely on renewables. Read more here.
  • SA reaches 70% renewables in electricity generation to the grid. Read more here.
  • A report on the recent disconnection of the SA electrical grid from AEMO. Read more here.
  • AGL will shut down its Torrens Island 'B' gas power station in South Australia in 2026. Read more here.
  • SA's electrical grid has been supplied with over 100% renewables for over 10 days - a world record! Read more here.

Sustainability 

  • The Big Picture - How Australia could contribute to global net-zero emissions via clean exports – of energy and commodities. Read the article here.
  • Sustainable Aviation Fuel used on A380 airliner in flight. Read the article here.
  • This site describes the need for a "Materials transition" - the need to consider the life-cycle emissions from materials (in their production, use & disposal or recycling), as well as energy production & other activities - in order to meet the world's sustainability goals. Read the article here.
  • Plans for this "green cement" plant at Pt Augusta were announced on 12/7/22. Read the article here.
  • The rise in electricity and gas prices in the near future should drive the investment in renewable energy. Read the news article here.
  • Did you know there is an (Aus) Energy Efficiency Council - & they have recently held a "2022 Energy Efficiency Summit"? Watch it here.
  • A new international "green accounting" system - which could help SA companies to gain business. Read more here.
  • The world's first floating city in South Korea. Read more here.

Past SENG SA/NT/OS Events

  • SENG SA/NT/O-s chapter Presentation - “Renewable Hydrogen Developments in SA” from 23/6/22:  A recording of this event is now available via EA on Demand. Watch it here.