Solar Energy

How state legislation led the banning of big wind and solar projects in a fourth of Ohio’s counties cleveland.com

I came across this news from techxplore.com that new data compiled by the NGO Global Energy Monitor details the truly astonishing dominance that China has been able to build in the construction of large-scale wind and solar projects, as the chart above shows.

With a total capacity of 180 GW of utility-scale solar and 159 GW of wind currently under construction, this approx. twice the power of all other similar projects in the rest of the world combined — and almost as large a range as what we, the US, in distant second place, are currently building!

More information from the GEM report:

China added almost twice as much utility-scale solar and wind power in 2023 as in any other year. In the first quarter of 2024, China’s total utility-scale solar and wind capacity reached 758 GW, although data from the China Electricity Board put the total capacity, including distributed solar, at 1,120 GW. Wind and solar power currently account for 37% of the country’s total electricity generation, an 8% increase from 2022, and are expected to surpass coal power, which accounts for 39% of total capacity, in 2024.

Even more impressive:

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 – a development hailed by the independent research organization as a possible “tipping point”.

“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.

Indeed, China is still the largest emitter of greenhouse gases:

Looking ahead, if all proposed utility-scale solar and wind projects come online
projected, China could easily reach 1,200 GW of installed wind and solar capacity
The end of 2024, six years and one year ahead of the promise made by President Xi Jinping
Earlier than GEM’s forecast last year.

…

The potential developed in China provides a huge amount of potential
further evidence for the prediction that energy sector carbon emissions may peak
Sooner than the promised “by 2030” timeline. In fact, the May 2024 study
Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow and lead analyst at the Asia Public Policy Institute
The Center for Energy and Clean Air Research suggests so China’s total CO2
emissions may already peak in 2023, accounts for 90% of the electricity demand
increases have been offset by wind and solar generation as well as declines
housing construction activity.

If true, this would be a huge step towards China’s ambitious goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2060 – if only the rest of the world could follow their example!

(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.