Developments and News in clean energy: Wind, solar and batteries grow despite economic challenges

publiusr · 20 December 2024

publiusr · 19 January 2025

CO2 to protein
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-dual-reactor-consumable-cell-protein.html
Oil can perhaps become food

https://www.reddit.com/r/chemistry/comments/pywzo8/is_it_possible_to_convert_crude_oil_into_edible

chimeric oncogene · 20 January 2025

publiusr said:
Oil can perhaps become food

Done on large scale since the 1970s with varying degree; single cell protein has been the Solution to World Hunger since they first thought it up in the 1960s.

http://www.ascension-publishing.com/BIZ/CIA-microalgae-Soviet.pdf https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91T01115R000100080003-4.pdf

Justo Miranda · 20 January 2025

For this year perhaps the title "Drill-baby-drill" would be more appropriate.

publiusr · 25 January 2025

publiusr · 31 January 2025

publiusr · 7 February 2025

publiusr · 14 February 2025

Arjen · 16 February 2025

US federal government is attempting to rehire NNSA staff who were fired last Thursday:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g3nrx1dq5o

The US government is trying to bring back nuclear safety employees it fired on Thursday, but is struggling to let them know they should return to work, NBC News has reported.

The National Nuclear Security Administration workers were among hundreds of employees in the energy department who received termination letters.

An email obtained by NBC said the letters for some NNSA employees "are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel".

I remember a similar firing-rehiring incident when Musk took over Twitter.
<edit> Link to original NBC story:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/na...nuclear-safety-workers-cant-figure-rcna192345

publiusr · 16 February 2025

publiusr · 9 March 2025

Wind power noise questioned
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-evidence-turbine-syndrome-windmill-noise.html

Grey Havoc · 11 March 2025

publiusr said:
Wind power noise questioned
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-evidence-turbine-syndrome-windmill-noise.html

I'm more than a bit sceptical about that study.

publiusr · 11 March 2025

Justo Miranda · 11 March 2025

The maintenance costs of any device that works with moving parts end up eating into the profitability of the invention. And now that ideological subsidies are going to be eliminated, we should only consider solar energy conversion systems and long-term storage systems with minimal losses. In my opinion, the future lies in deciphering the mysteries of photosynthesis (which has several quantum levels that scientists have not yet been able to access) and finding a way to give it industrial application to produce food and energy at a minimum price.

That is going to bother many people who live on scarcity, ecological protests, hunger and wars, but it only needs to work once in the laboratory, and no one will be able to stop it.

Halcyon66 · 21 March 2025

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charted-renewable-energy-capacity-in-the-u-s-2014-2024/
Regards,

shin_getter · 21 March 2025

https://www.construction-physics.com/p/understanding-solar-energy

publiusr · 21 March 2025

publiusr · 4 April 2025

Grey Havoc · 7 April 2025

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...wind-farms-to-be-moored-off-south-west-coast/

publiusr · 11 April 2025

publiusr · 25 April 2025

publiusr · 3 May 2025

Halcyon66 · 6 May 2025

https://techau.com.au/australias-gr...ity Market (NEM,of coal-fired power declines.
Regards,

Grey Havoc · 7 May 2025

Halcyon66 said:
https://techau.com.au/australias-gr...ity Market (NEM,of coal-fired power declines.
Regards,

Given recent events, I have to wonder just how accurate those claims are.

In other news:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...ea-wind-farm-development-halted-over-soaring/

Grey Havoc · 15 May 2025

https://www.reuters.com/sustainabil...-profit-view-uk-new-york-strength-2025-05-15/

publiusr · 19 May 2025

GTX · 10 June 2025

While this TED talk is nominally focussed on the Australian potential, the graphs etc in it are of particular interest showing just how significant the Chinese growth is:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFVAqokxUoU

Grey Havoc · 19 June 2025

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...igger-closure-uk-biggest-fibre-glass-factory/

A major supplier to Britain’s green energy industry is set to close after its Japanese owner failed to clinch a rescue deal for the company and its 250 workers.

Wigan-based Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGFU), which is owned by Nippon Electric Glass (NEG), makes vital components used in wind turbines and electric cars. Its closure puts net zero supply chains under threat.

Both turbines and EVs are seen by the Government as critical to its industrial strategy amid moves to decarbonise the British economy and to build up domestic supplies of critical products at a time of tariffs, wars and mounting geopolitical rivalries.

The British operation was profitable as recently as 2022, but made losses of £3m in 2023, mounting to £12m in 2024, according to the Japanese owner, which first invested in the UK arm in 2016.

It blamed competition from Chinese imports as well as the rising cost of raw materials, in financial statements published in last year, which could only be partially passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.

The business also said rising energy prices were putting pressure on operations.

Electric Glass Fiber’s closure comes just a day after Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s announced £1bn of investment in offshore wind supply chains.

The investment is aimed at building manufacturing capacity for turbine blades, cables and the platforms needed for floating wind farms.

Britain’s manufacturers typically pay far higher bills than competitors in countries including France and Germany, even though much of the Continent has been exposed to higher gas and electricity costs since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

British industry had to pay an additional £29bn for its gas and electricity over the last four years compared to the four years before the pandemic, according to new analysis by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).

The UK’s iron and steel industry alone spent £1.8bn extra in the four years after the crisis. Its energy bill rose 80pc to £4bn, despite steel and steel mill output falling by 25pc since 2020.

The Office for National Statistics has said the UK has some of the world’s highest industrial energy prices. High gas prices and green levies such as the climate change levy, renewables obligation and feed-in tariffs have added to energy bills.

British and European authorities sought to protect domestic fibreglass manufacturers from perceived unfair competition from China, imposing “anti-dumping” tariffs on imports from the world’s second-largest economy in 2020.

The measures are set to run until early next year. Most of the company’s sales go to European customers.

But the tariffs were not sufficient to preserve the Wigan plant.

NEG said the closure of the site, just west of Manchester, came despite intense efforts to find an alternative. Production will cease later this month.

‘Voluntary liquidation’
The parent company said:“NEG has considered various options, including the possibility of selling EGFU, forming strategic partnerships, or cessation of its business activities during the approximately two and a half month strategic review period.

“In order to quickly rebuild our composites business, we have determined to cease EGFU’s operation and proceed with preparations for voluntary liquidation.”

The closure comes after Sir Keir Starmer stepped in to rescue British Steel, taking control of the business as the Prime Minister deemed the Scunthorpe site to be critical to the country’s industrial security.

In that instance, a Chinese owner’s planned closure would have threatened the nation’s remaining steel production capacity, with ramifications for industries from construction to defence at a time when the Government wants both of those sectors to ramp up output urgently.

Last night, the industry minister Sarah Jones said: “We know this is a concerning time for Electric Glass Fiber UK workers and their families, and we are continuing to work closely with Nippon Electric Glass to understand the challenges and provide support.

“I recently met with the company’s leadership to stress the importance of the plant to the area and the UK.”

Grey Havoc · 2 July 2025

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/business/energy-environment/trump-bill-solar-panels-china.html(Registration or subscription may be required)

Grey Havoc · 3 July 2025

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/comm...-exposed-green-industrys-dirty-little-secret/(Subscription or registration may be required)

publiusr · 5 July 2025

Methane storage
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-method-high-density-methane-graphene.html
Better design
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-faster-topology-optimization-emerging-industrial.html
Tough fuel cell
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-tough-fuel-cell-stabilize-power.html
Ammonia and hydrogen production
https://phys.org/news/2025-07-scientists-lightning-ammonia-thin-air.html https://techxplore.com/news/2025-06-hydrogen-strategy-pem-electrolyzers-impure.html
Water purifier
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-spongy-material-sun-power-salt.html
Heat sinks for space—bees wax?
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-space-based-wax-electronics-cooler.html https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-students-rocket-powered-beeswax.html
Cooler spacecraft
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-cheaper-energy-bills-ai-materials.html https://techxplore.com/news/2025-07-energy-consumption-phase-materials.html

Flyaway · 13 July 2025

This is talking about solar power in general.

For its part, China is following through on its 10-year plan to triple its solar capacity by 2030 — a target it could hit as early as 2026, if it keeps up the current pace. While that has clear benefits for the environment and health of Chinese citizens, it also serves a geopolitical purpose, namely ending its dependence on American energy sources like oil and coal.

The US under Donald Trump, meanwhile, is drastically reversing course on a renewable future. His recent Big Beautiful Bill includes an end to tax incentives for new buyers of solar panels and batteries, and grants massive subsidies to the fossil and biofuel industries.

To justify the move, Trump blamed solar and wind infrastructure for skyrocketing energy costs, despite overwhelming evidence that solar energy makes the broader energy grid more stable, and energy much cheaper. That being the case, it's probably no shock to discover the president has more than a few ulterior motives.

https://futurism.com/electricity-generated-solar-power

GTX · 14 July 2025

Included for the emphasis on the expansion of Chinese renewable energy production:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOEFacrAG2w

Justo Miranda · 14 July 2025

The lithium-ion battery follows the same design strategy introduced by Volta 200 years ago, it does not improve and will not improve until quantum computers find a miracle.

The energy contained in a battery is a minuscule fraction of the energy contained in a liter of gasoline, the best can store about two hundred watt-hours per kilogram, gasoline stores twelve thousand.

Without an efficient battery, wind and solar power are toys that cannot be trusted.

GTX · 15 July 2025

Justo Miranda said:
The lithium-ion battery follows the same design strategy introduced by Volta 200 years ago, it does not improve and will not improve until quantum computers find a miracle.

Ah, the old "we have to wait for a more advanced technology" argument...

Justo Miranda said:
The energy contained in a battery is a minuscule fraction of the energy contained in a liter of gasoline, the best can store about two hundred watt-hours per kilogram, gasoline stores twelve thousand.

Without an efficient battery, wind and solar power are toys that cannot be trusted.

And yet, they are still already being used, be that small systems on individual houses (I have this already connected to my solar panels and am largely already self-sufficient off the grid) through to large scale systems, some of which are listed here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_energy_storage_system#Largest_grid_batteries

publiusr · 15 July 2025

shin_getter · 15 July 2025

Justo Miranda said:
The lithium-ion battery follows the same design strategy introduced by Volta 200 years ago, it does not improve and will not improve until quantum computers find a miracle.

The combustion engine follows the same principle as burning wood 800,000 years ago. It does not improve and will not improve until the atmosphere is composed of different gases.

starviking · 15 July 2025

GTX said:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-18/survey-of-the-worlds-solar-shows-global-boom/104006096

Not all roses, though.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/11/25/energy/solar-boom-pakistan-grid/

shin_getter · 15 July 2025

Reminds me of this:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53450688
note follow up: https://www.sanjuandailystar.com/post/the-once-booming-drug-town-going-bust-under-taliban-rule

Justo Miranda · 16 July 2025

shin_getter said:
The combustion engine follows the same principle as burning wood 800,000 years ago. It does not improve and will not improve until the atmosphere is composed of different gases.

Combustion is possible thanks to the production of oxygen by microorganisms. The fossil fuels that we burn, as naturally as we eat fruit, are solar energy chemically condensed by microorganisms through a process called photosynthesis that uses various levels of quantum technology that we are not yet able to produce in the laboratory. Both phenomena are safe, natural and durable, the renewable hydroelectric energy generated by a double dam system is also safe. Wind generators are a mechanical folly, and photovoltaic generators are a declaration of technological impotence, both systems generate great pollution during the process of their manufacture and during transport from the third world, they are not reliable and make us depend on the sun and the wind like the caravels of Columbus.

Developments and News in clean energy: Wind, solar and batteries grow despite economic challenges

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