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(FILES) This file photo taken on May 9, 2024 shows workers installing solar panels at the Ningxia Tengger Desert New Energy Base in Zhongwei, north China’s Ningxia region. A study published on July 11, 2024 found that China is building almost twice as much wind and solar power as all other countries combined. (Photo AFP) / China OUT

Beijing, China – China has nearly twice as much wind and solar energy potential as all other countries combined, a study published Thursday showed.

The world’s second largest economy is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases that cause climate change.

China has committed to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and zero by 2060.

READ: EU probes Chinese wind turbine suppliers over subsidies

It has endured several extreme weather events in recent months, scientists say, and climate change is making it worse.

China currently has 339 gigawatts (GW) of total capacity under construction, including 159 GW of wind and 180 GW of solar.

According to a study by Global Energy Monitor, a US-based NGO, this is “almost double the rest of the world combined”.

The report notes that this number far outstrips the second-largest country, the United States, which produces only 40 GW of electricity.

READ: Biden raises tariffs on Chinese electric cars, solar cells, steel, aluminum

He said China has broken ground on a third of the new wind and solar capacity it has announced so far, compared to a global average of just seven percent.

“The stark contrast in construction rates shows the proactive nature of China’s commitment to building renewable energy projects,” the study said.

‘Turning point?’

Beijing’s extensive renewable energy production has some drawbacks.

The national grid is falling back on polluting coal plants to cope with rising electricity demand.

It is struggling to transfer renewable energy generated in remote northwestern regions to economic and population centers in the east.

However, China’s combined wind and solar power capacity is poised to overtake coal this year, according to the report.

It said the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources is raising hopes that Beijing’s carbon emissions will peak sooner than expected.

In a separate report released on Thursday, the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research (CREA) found that China will not issue new permits for coal-based steelmaking projects in the first half of 2024.

CREA said there were no new permits on a half-yearly basis for the first time since China announced its “dual carbon targets” in September 2020 – seen as a possible “tipping point” by the independent research organisation.

“As China’s steel demand peaks and more scrap becomes available, there is great potential to move away from coal-based generation, a significant opportunity to reduce emissions over the next 10 years,” CREA’s report said.

Scientists say global warming is making extreme weather more frequent and intense.

China has seen a poor summer with scorching heat in the north and torrential rain in the south.

Its weather agency predicted last week that very high temperatures will continue in the coming weeks under the influence of climate change.

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Torrential rains in the east and south have also caused a series of deadly floods and landslides in recent weeks.

This will bring the total new storage capacity supported in South Australia to at least 600MW.

Notably, grid infrastructure expansion as part of this agreement will help facilitate the state government’s goal of achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2027; If achieved, South Australia would be one of the first states in the country to do so.

When signing the agreement, South Australia must also commit to delivering a Hydrogen Business Plan; create its own network reliability mechanism and benchmark to replace the national framework; and working with the federal government to implement policies, practices, and processes that improve community participation.

Capacity Investment Scheme to help roll out South Australia’s infrastructure

The deal also ties in with the Albanian government’s plan to build and operate an additional 32 GW of renewable energy generation and energy storage across the country by 2030. This is supported through its Capacity Investment Scheme. 40 GW of solar and wind projects.

Crucially, to achieve this goal, the rapid expansion of energy infrastructure must take place in an already aging system, which can often be expensive and complicated by several obstacles. However, bilateral agreements are specifically designed to overcome the barriers that developers, communities and governments face in implementing renewable energy projects.

While South Australia is the first state to formalize the agreement, agreements are being finalized with other states and territories.

South Australia’s climate change and energy minister Chris Bowne welcomed the deal, saying it would “give confidence to the market to build new projects”.

“It is good to give confidence to the market to build new projects; “It’s great to sign an agreement to work with South Australia on practical steps to make the most of this energy transformation for South Australian workers, communities and industry,” Bowne said.

“The Albanian government’s Reliable Renewable Energy Plan is the only expert-backed plan to deliver the clean, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy system Australians deserve. This contrasts sharply with Peter Dutton’s anti-renewable nuclear plan – which remains unspent and unexplained.”

He estimated that a kilogram of primary titanium metal is about 20 times more expensive than an equivalent quality of steel because it takes more energy to produce – although Fang and other scientists are working to invent less energy-intensive methods.

Titanium occurs in the earth’s crust as ilmenite, a heavy, opaque mineral mined mainly in China, Mozambique, South Africa and Canada. As a chemical element, titanium reacts rapidly with oxygen in the air to form the compound titanium dioxide. To separate the oxygen, companies use a method known as the Kroll process.

To start, titanium ore is heated to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit and reacted with chlorine gas and carbon-rich oil to form ​”coke.” This step yields a liquid chemical, titanium tetrachloride, and also produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct (similar to how blast furnaces for iron production release CO2). The liquid chemical is then subjected to another treatment using molten magnesium, resulting in a porous, spongy pure titanium metal.

The sponge is then crushed and melted and made into ingots, coils and bars — the types of products Timet plans to make at its solar-powered Ravenswood plant — and then into finished products.

The United States has not produced its own titanium sponge since 2020, after Timet closed the nation’s last remaining production line in Henderson, Nevada, where the company still melts titanium. Today, the US imports most of its titanium sponge supply from Japan and to a lesser extent from Kazakhstan.

Competition from cheap imports and falling global metal prices have made it difficult for US manufacturers to continue to produce sponges domestically. Rising energy costs have also strained operations, as have other energy-intensive industries, including domestic aluminum production. When Century Aluminum finally closed its Ravenswood smelter in 2015, the company cited high electricity prices as one of the main reasons.

Limiting costs and CO2 emissions from titanium

Finding cleaner sources of electricity to power titanium devices can help manage and potentially reduce the costs associated with manufacturing titanium products. But companies and researchers are also developing alternative methods for titanium production that aim to dramatically reduce energy use and curb carbon dioxide emissions in the supply chain.

At the University of Utah, Fang developed a new thermochemical process that uses hydrogen to separate titanium from oxygen at relatively low temperatures and in a fraction of the time required by conventional methods. Notably, the process can use scrap metal to produce high-purity titanium, eliminating the need for raw minerals and several other energy-intensive steps.

On a lifecycle basis, the hydrogen metallothermic reduction (HAMR) process can reduce CO2 emissions from titanium production by anywhere from 50 to 95 percent, depending on the end product, compared to conventional methods.

Fang’s research group received nearly $7 million in total federal funding, including from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, to develop the HAMR process. North Carolina-based IperionX later acquired both the technology and a pilot plant in Utah that can produce about 2 metric tons of titanium per year, mostly for prototypes.

IperionX is partnering with metal 3D printing technology leader SLM Solutions to develop low-carbon recycled titanium powder at a new facility in Virginia. (IperionX)

Next month, IperionX plans to begin operations at its first commercial-scale facility in Halifax County, Virginia, which will process approximately 125 metric tons of titanium per year. The company received a $12.7 million grant from the Department of Defense for the new facility, which will produce titanium products for potential customers such as Ford, Lockheed Martin and GKN Aerospace.

Dominic Allen, IperionX’s chief commercial officer, said the company was working to “re-establish” US titanium production for national security reasons. Today, China and Russia together control about 70 percent of the world market for primary titanium. IperionX also hopes that by producing less energy-intensive and therefore cheaper titanium, the metal can tap into new markets, potentially replacing aluminum and stainless steel in vehicles and construction materials.

“The titanium market is about $4 billion globally,” Allen said, adding that the global markets for aluminum and stainless steel are about $170 billion and $200 billion, respectively. ​”So if you can buy just a fraction of those markets on price alone, there’s going to be a lot of growth in the titanium market from where it is today.”

Meanwhile, titanium producers are expanding to serve the existing market for the high-strength, lightweight metal, and in Timet’s case, harnessing clean energy as they scale.

In addition to its new plant in West Virginia, Timet operates titanium smelters in Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Timet’s two main U.S. competitors, ATI Materials and Howmet Aerospace, also operate smelters in Ohio, North Carolina and Washington.

The ​”state-of-the-art” facility in Ravenswood will allow Timet to address growing demand for titanium products from the aerospace industry and other sectors, Precision Castparts’ Dugan said. The solar microgrid next door ​”presents a unique opportunity to increase our titanium capacity using a renewable energy source,” he said.

A file photo of PLN and UNIQLO Collaborate to Supply 8,978 MWh of Green Electricity through Renewable Energy Certificates

PT PLN (Persero) has announced a collaboration with PT Fast Retailing Indonesia (UNIQLO) to supply the fashion company with 8,978 megawatt hours (MWh) of green electricity via Renewable Energy Certificates (REC). This partnership signifies a major step in supporting the decarbonization of Indonesia’s industrial sector.

Darmawan Prasodjo, President Director of PLN, highlighted the importance of REC in facilitating transparent and accountable use of renewable energy. “We appreciate UNIQLO’s initiative to use PLN’s green electricity to support the energy transition and sustainability of the fashion industry in the country. We are committed to providing the best green electricity service through REC,” said Darmawan.

The collaboration is a significant move towards achieving Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2060. Darmawan emphasized the role of REC services in encouraging various sectors to actively reduce carbon emissions.

General Manager of PLN Main Distribution Unit Jakarta Raya, Lasiran, praised UNIQLO’s commitment to using green electricity across all its offices and outlets in Indonesia. “UNIQLO’s initiative demonstrates a high level of awareness of the importance of clean energy. We hope more companies will follow suit,” Lasiran stated.

Yulia Rachmawati, UNIQLO’s Sustainability & Corporate PR Manager, reiterated the company’s dedication to sustainability. “In line with our sustainability pillar values, we are committed to using renewable energy in all our stores in Indonesia, contributing to a better environment and planet for everyone.”

This collaboration underscores the crucial role of corporate partnerships in advancing sustainable energy initiatives and highlights UNIQLO’s leadership in adopting environmentally friendly practices in the fashion industry.

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Photo Credit: Penn State University

Tech Xplore reports that researchers at Penn State University have developed a method to harness solar energy and the incredibly cold temperatures of space to create both renewable energy and cooling capabilities.

The results of the researchers were published in the scientific journal “Cell Reports Physical Science” under the title “Simultaneous subambient daytime radiative cooling and photovoltaic energy production from the same area.”

The method developed by Penn State researchers collects the sun’s energy in a solar cell (like normal) while also removing heat from the Earth using a process called “radiative cooling.” This immediately sends infrared light directly into space (what researchers call “cold space”) without heating the surrounding air.

As the scientists explain, combining solar harvesting with radiative cooling has created a method that is greater than the sum of its parts—working in tandem to create both electricity and cooling capacity for things like refrigerators or air conditioners.

“Based on these experimental results, using the two harvesters together has the potential to significantly outperform the bare solar cell, a key renewable energy technology,” said Linxiao Zhu, an associate professor of mechanical engineering who led the research.

“Day and night, radiative cooling works like a natural air conditioner 24/7,” said Pramit Ghosh, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering at Penn State and first author of the study. “Even on a hot day, the radiation cooler is cold to the touch… At the same time and in the same place, we can use these renewable resources together 24 hours a day.”

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Creating more sustainable ways to create cooling capacity is critical to our clean energy future – air conditioners alone are expected to cause more than 100 million metric tons (110 million tons) of air pollution in some parts of the world between now and 2050. As our planet continues to overheat, the use of air conditioners will continue to increase.

Since telling people to turn off their air conditioners and walk in the heat isn’t a very reasonable or realistic requirement (some governments are), it’s important that we continue to develop and invest in new, more efficient and sustainable versions of this technology. . A new technology from Penn State researchers does just that.

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