US Government aims to deploy 30GW of offshore wind by 2030

The US Government has announced a national goal to deploy 30GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, in an effort to cut 78 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The new target will support around 77,000 jobs and power ten million homes across the country.

The goal will spur $12bn in capital investment a year, leading to the construction of up to ten manufacturing plants for wind turbine components, new ships to install offshore turbines and up to $500m in port upgrades.

It will also provide a pathway to deploy 110GW or more offshore wind by 2050. This would support 135,000 total jobs, including 77,000 in offshore wind and 58,000 induced in communities with offshore wind activity.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programmes Office has released a fact sheet to facilitate access for up to $3bn in funding to meet the target. The funding would be granted through LPO’s Title 17 Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee Programme.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said: “This offshore wind goal is proof of our commitment to using American ingenuity and might to invest in our nation, advance our own energy security and combat the climate crisis.

“The DOE is going to marshal every resource we have to get as many American companies, using as many sheets of American steel, employing as many American workers as possible in offshore wind energy in order to drive economic growth from coast to coast.”

The DOE has also announced $8m funding for 15 new offshore wind research and development projects through the National Offshore Wind R&D Consortium, which it established in 2018.

Abu Dhabi National Energy plans move towards renewables

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) has announced plans to move away from oil and natural gas towards renewables. The announcement came as part of its 2030 vision for sustainable and profitable growth strategy.

The firm operates oil and gas assets in North America and Iraq, and power assets in Morocco.

TAQA Group CEO and managing director Jasim Husain Thabet said: “TAQA will become a champion for low carbon power and water. This strategy sets out how we are going to deliver on this promise and our vision for the future.

“We will build on our strengths and use the unique position we have in Abu Dhabi as a platform for growth in the UAE and internationally. We will expand our portfolio of renewables and highly efficient water desalination, drive efficiency in our networks and distribution business and invest in growing the UAE Regulated Asset Base.

“As one of the largest integrated utilities in the region, we are well placed to be at the heart of meeting the accelerating demand for low carbon power and water. We have a strong pipeline of existing projects and are ready to seize further opportunities in a way that benefits our stakeholders – from shareholders to employees and customers.”

Under its strategic plan, TAQA intends to generate more than 30% of its power from renewable sources, especially solar, by the end of this decade. Currently, its renewable generation stands at 5%.

The energy company also plans to invest $10.8bn (AED40bn) in transmission and distribution assets in the country. It plans to increase its gross power capacity from 18GW to 30GW in the domestic market and add up to 15GW internationally by 2030.

Sellafield accused of sexist, racist, and homophobic abuses by whistleblowers

Whistleblowers have accused Sellafield of a range of abuses, including sexism, racism, and homophobia, the latest in a series of controversies to hit the UK’s largest nuclear power facility.

The allegations, first reported yesterday morning by the BBC, include a woman being asked “in graphic terms” about performing sexual favours to receive a promotion, and Muslim men being characterised as “bearded men in flip-flops”, and that “all they want to do is blow us up”.

Considering the scale of the Sellafield project, which employs more than 10,000 people and boasts stores of more than 140 tonnes of plutonium, the world’s largest civil stockpile, the accusations have shone a light on abuses in one of the world’s leading nuclear facilities.

These incidents have contributed to what has been described as a toxic workplace culture at the facility, where employees are afraid to speak up about personal abuses for fear of reprisals.

The BBC pointed to a pair of surveys conducted in 2016 and 2018, which showed a fall in the percentage of employees who said they could “speak out about doing the right thing without fear of reprisals” from 65% to 54%.

The latter survey also revealed that 70% of employees had not seen evidence of Sellafield changing for the better and just 56% of employees would recommend the facility as a great place to work.

When asked about the latest allegations, a Sellafield spokesperson told Power Technology: “We’re committed to ensuring all of our employees are respected, included, and able to perform at their best.”

“We closely monitor our progress, including seeking the views of our workforce through working groups and surveys,” continued the spokesperson. “It was one of these surveys, in 2018, that first brought focus to concerns about bullying and harassment.

“We did not ignore this or seek to cover it up. We confronted the issue, proactively shared information with employees, and developed a company-wide improvement programme. This work is continuing.”

Three key points for power generation from China’s five-year plan

On 5 March, the ruling party of China released a draft of its 14th five-year plan, outlining the country’s upcoming economic priorities.

The draft plan covers a wide range of economic objectives and gives a broad view of how the country will build out its energy infrastructure. Later in the year, the Chinese Communist Party will publish more detailed plans around the power industry.

The plan is also the first since President Xi Jinping told a UN summit that China would aim to reduce its carbon emissions to net-zero by 2060. This target falls ten years later than the 2050 deadline adopted by most countries, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Xi also said that China’s emissions would peak by 2030, though this provoked scepticism as China continues to build and commission coal-fired power plants.

The upcoming five-year plan states that at the end of 2020, Chinese nuclear capacity reached 51GW. This fell short of the country’s 58GW target, but it has set a new target for 70GW of generation before 2025.

In January, the China National Nuclear Corporation began commercial operations at its first Hualong One reactor. This reactor design is the first developed in China and, according to Reuters, industry officials have suggested construction of at least six new nuclear units per year in order to take advantage of economies of scale.

At the Two Sessions meeting of China’s rulers, premier Li Keqiang said that the coming five-year plan would “promote the clean and efficient use of coal”.

The country’s new coal plants use emissions reduction technology to minimise their sulphur and particulate pollution, both of which significantly contribute to urban smog problems.

In 2020, the country built 38.4GW of coal-fired generation. At the same time, it started the decommissioning of 8.6GW, leaving a net gain of 29.8GW. In the same year, the country’s power demand increased by 3%, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. As such, Chinese authorities view coal as a “cornerstone” of meeting energy demand.

Scientists to study advanced batteries with neutron diffraction

The Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI) has launched a new European research project using neutron diffraction to help improve the lifetime of energy storage batteries.

The process, which presents the entire crystal structure of the battery as it operates, allows battery experts to observe and control the processes impacting battery life and performance.

The project is being conducted in collaboration between INMA, a joint institute between the University of Zaragoza and the Spanish National Research Council, along with global battery company Exide Technologies.

The partners will study the processes that govern recharge efficiency and battery electrode failure using a suite of neutron beamline experiments.

Through a specific focus on battery electrodes, which transfer energy to and from the electrolyte to power the polarised device they connect to, neutron diffraction will be used to study the batteries in operation across different duty cycles.

CBI director Alistair Davidson said: “The ability to probe battery electrodes in real-time, under typical energy storage duty cycles, will deliver vital insights into how to enhance performance and the overall lifetime of the battery.

“This information is a critical part of our advanced battery research programme, which aims to ensure advanced lead batteries continue to innovate to meet heightened demand for clean, renewable energy storage across the globe.”

Neutron diffraction would not only map the activity of the surface of the electrodes, but the entire electrode and electrolyte present in the battery. This depicts how battery electrodes are changing at the micro-level, something unique to lead battery research.

By describing the electrode phenomenon of battery lifetime, the research is unveiling new information on how to control the active material and maximise battery life in all applications for advanced lead batteries, a key goal for the CBI.

UK Budget announces green funding schemes for energy transition

The UK Government’s Budget announcement has legislated for the creation of an infrastructure bank and green finance schemes that could benefit the power industry in the country.

On Wednesday, UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a package of business measures. These included an increase in corporation tax, set for two years’ time. Until then, the UK Government will allow companies to deduct 130% of their investments from their taxes.

The chancellor also recapped his previous announcement of a “world-leading” sovereign green bond. This would allow citizens to invest in national renewable energy projects, with one of the first projects expected to be a £20m competition to develop floating offshore wind demonstration projects.

Sunak then announced the creation of a retail savings product for investors to support green projects. He continued: “We will also establish a new group, to establish the City [of London] as a global leader for voluntary, high-quality carbon offset markets.

"Underpinning all of this will be an updated monetary policy remit for the Bank of England, reflecting the importance of environmental sustainability and the transition to net-zero.”

As part of wider “accelerated growth deals”, the chancellor said that energy projects in Scotland and Wales would benefit from the budget. These included the Holyhead Hydrogen Hub, the Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone, and the Global Underwater Hub, also in Aberdeen.

This city would also benefit from the North Sea Transition Deal, a government plan to incentivise decarbonisation of its offshore industry. Trade body Oil and Gas UK said that the deal, expected to be implemented in the first half of 2021, would be “essential” to decarbonisation.

In the coming year, the government will form an infrastructure bank to invest in public and private projects in the UK. Sunak said: “Beginning this spring, it will have an initial capitalisation of £12bn and we expect it to support at least £40bn of total investment in infrastructure.

Directly following this, Sunak moved on to offshore wind development, recapping a previously announced pledge to develop the UK’s offshore wind sector.

He said: “Offshore wind is an innovative industry, where the UK already has a global competitive advantage. So we’re funding new port infrastructure to build the next generation of wind projects in Teesside and Humberside.”