Pumped Hydro Storage for Flatlanders

[source] Dr. Jan Huynen (86) during the academic promotion plenum last month at the university of Utrecht in the Netherlands on the topic of large-scale underground hydro-storage.

Holland is “zo plat als een dubbeltje” (as flat as a dime)…

[source]

…and hence not suitable for large-scale pumped hydro-storage, because for that you need mountains, right? Like in Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Scotland?

“Wrong!” says dr. Jan Huynen (86), who received his PhD last month, his second, by defending his thesis that post stamp sized country the Netherlands can very well harbor large-scale hydro-storage… under ground.

The economist-engineer-entrepreneur Jan Huynen has been working 30 years on his brainchild and advocates that the Netherlands should build an underground storage facility for excess renewable energy. Exporting electricity to neighbours is no long-term option, because variations in solar and wind will often go hand-in-hand cross-border. Huynen proposes an above ground reservoir of 400 x 500 meter and ca. 15 meter deep and a secundairy reservoir, 1400 meter below the surface, the maximum altitude modern pumps can bridge. In the southern province of Limburg suitable locations could be found, but more research is necessary. Huynen’s design encompasses a pump/generator of 1400 MW, a total storage capacity of 9.4 GWh. Construction time 6-7 years, investment volume 1.8 billion euro. Payback time 50 years.

[source]

[deingenieur.nl] – Energieopslag met water kan in Nederland
[volkskrant.nl] – Windenergie behouden in water kan óók in landen zonder bergen
[delftacademicpress.nl] – Blue battery for green energy (index)
[University Utrecht] – L. Corbijn, Benefits of Underground Pumped Hydro Storage (UPHS) in the Dutch power system (thesis, 103p, 2017)
[ad.nl] – 86-jarige heeft revolutionair windenergie-plan
[libris.nl] – Presentatie/Interview Jan Huynen
[ensoc.nl] – Wind en zon opslaan in ondergrondse waterkrachtcentrale

[amazon.de] – Blue battery for green energy, 25 euro

Encouraging Tesla S/X Battery Degradation Data

A Dutch-language forum of Tesla-owners (Netherlands + Belgium) gathered usage data of their over 350 Tesla vehicles and battery capacity data in particular. The results are encouraging to say the least and suggest that a single battery could power a Tesla S/X for the entire economic life-cycle of the vehicle. Degradation is at its fastest during the first 50,000 miles, a very acceptable 5% only. Then you have to work harder to get at the next 5%: 136,000 miles.

In continental European words: you can drive your Tesla S/X over 300,000 km and your battery will still be able to contain north of 90% of the original energy capacity (85 kWh).

These figures are not universal though. Nissan for instance has far less shining figures, see links below.

[electrek.co] – Tesla battery degradation at less than 10% after over 160,000 miles, according to latest data
[teslamotorsclub.com] – Forum data

ScottishPower Into 100% Wind

[Google Maps] Shoreham gas power plant

Scottish power company ScottishPower announced on Tuesday that it has completed the sale of its traditional generation business to British electrical power generation company Drax Group for £702 million in cash, resulting in ScottishPower becoming the first integrated energy company in the UK to shift completely from coal and gas to wind power…

Note that the Shoreham plant won’t be decommissioned, so no short term climate advantages are realized here. But the signal is clear:

This makes ScottishPower the first vertically integrated UK energy company to exit coal and gas electricity generation and the first to transition to being powered entirely by renewable energies.

ScottishPower can set itself up as a “100% green power company” and expand its customer base accordingly.

[scottishpower.com] – 100% Green Generation for ScottishPower with Sale of Remaining Gas Plant
[cleantechnica.com] – ScottishPower Ditches Remaining Gas Plants In Move To 100% Wind
[deepresource] – World-Record Pumped-Hydro Storage for Scotland?
[Google Maps] – Location Southern England (not Scotland)

Ocean Cleanup Started Operations

Dutch based venture “Ocean Cleanup” has begun operations this week to being to clean up the oceans of the world, to begin with the dirtiest one, the Pacific, mostly from Asia.

[source]

[wikipedia.org] – Ocean Cleanup
[spiegel.de] – Müllfänger nimmt Arbeit am Pazifik-Strudel auf

Question: if most plastic ends up in the ocean via Asian rivers, wouldn’t it make more sense to filter the rivers estuary; cleaning up at the source?

Royal Dutch Shell to Become Renewable Energy Leader

Royal Dutch Shell is preparing to “turbocharge” its bid to become a global leader in clean energy in the coming years as it seeks to overcome the “existential” challenge posed by climate change, boss Ben van Beurden has told The Sunday Telegraph… “The biggest calling card we have is scale. We can scale much faster than anyone else,” he added.

[telegraph.co.uk] – Shell set to ‘turbocharge’ its clean energy drive in the 2020s
[shell.com] – Shell Energy Transition Report [pdf]

Ben van Beurden earlier this month participated in Energy Week forum in Russia, joining a panel together with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

[shell.nl] – Shell to develop geothermal energy in the Netherlands

[fluxenergie.nl] – Shell Pernis-refinery to heats tens of thousands of households

[fluxenergie.nl] – Innogy and Shell in floating wind turbines

Offshore Wind Capacity Factors

[source]

The general rule is: the bigger and the newer the offshore wind turbines, the larger the capacity factor becomes and hence the lower the per kWh price.

[energynumbers.info] – Danish data
[energynumbers.info] – German data
[energynumbers.info] – UK data
[energynumbers.info] – Belgian data

The champion: Dudgeon (last 12 months) ==> *** 65.3% ***

Dudgeon: 67 Siemens 6 MW turbines, 32 km offshore Norfolk, operational since October 2017, owners Statoil, Masdar, Statkraft, water depth 18-25 m, rotor axis 110 m, rotor diameter 154 m, nameplate capacity factor 48%

[4coffshore.com] – Dudgeon UK offshore wind farm 402 MW
[wikipedia.org] – Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm
[wikipedia.org] – Capacity factor

[ge.com] – Haliade-X Offshore Wind Turbine Platform

The Haliade-X 12 MW also features a 63% capacity factor*—five to seven points above industry standard. Each incremental point in capacity factor represents around $7 million in revenue for our customers over the life of a windfarm.

Self-Climbing Crane Making Progress

The idea is to substantially cut cost installing a wind turbine by using the turbine itself as a crane. The first (positive) experiences are now in with the construction of a 4.5 MW turbine. Large cranes are no longer necessary anymore.

[rvo.nl] – Bouw windturbine snel gerealiseerd dankzij zelf klimmende hijskraan
[orlaco.nl] – Zelfklimmende kraan kan niet zonder camera’s
[deepresource] – World Primeur – Lagerwey Self-Climbing Crane in Action
[deepresource] – Lagerwey Climbing Crane

Bill Gates with DOE into Mini Molten Salt Reactors

[source]

The Energy Department is participating in major push with electric utility Southern and a company founded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates to develop small nuclear power reactors that are less expensive and more efficient than their much larger cousins.

“Molten salt reactors are getting a reboot,” the Energy Department tweeted late Wednesday, offering a schematic of a battery-like power plant module that “could power America’s energy.”

Investment volume: 20 + 28 million $.
Prototype expected by 2030.

[washingtonexaminer.com] – Energy Department teams up with Bill Gates to move mini-nuclear plants to market
[whatisnuclear.com] – Molten Salt Reactors

Concrete Battery

Swiss startup Energy Vault wants to lift concrete weights (density 2.4 ton/m3) to store renewable energy when there is no pumped hydro as alternative, currently 96% of the world’s energy storage capacity, with 75% of it in 10 suitable countries only.

The idea: 120 m crane lifting 35 ton of concrete blocks and pile them up neatly. Storage capacity 20 MWh, sufficient for 2,000 household-days. Round-trip efficiency 85%. The lifting and positioning is done automatically, no human intervention necessary, thanks to camera’s and software. The system is relatively insensitive to wind, software compensates for it. The idea is to use building waste, municipalities otherwise pay money for to get rid off.

Currently a demo site with 20 m crane and 500 kg blocks is in operation.
Storage cost:

Lithium-ion: $280-350/kWh
Concrete battery: $150/kWh

First commercial projects are said to be realized early 2019.

[qz.com] – Stacking concrete blocks is a surprisingly efficient way to store energy
[cleantechnica.com] – Energy Vault Proposes An Energy Storage System Using Concrete Blocks

The Sudden Death of Peak Oil – 4.5 Trillion Barrels of Oil Left

Google trends – nobody is interested anymore in the topic of “peak oil”

Technology is not just expanding our daily oil production; it also continues to increase the amount of oil and liquid fuels we can count on for the future.

In 1981, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that remaining global recoverable crude and condensate resources were 1 trillion barrels; today, the IEA estimates that it is 4.5 trillion barrels – enough to meet global oil demand beyond the 21st century. By 2040, the amount of resources yet to be produced will still be far higher than total production prior to 2040, even with a 20 percent rise in global oil demand.

Oil reserves according to the IEA and US Geological Survey: 4.5 trillion barrel of recoverable oil left, that would be 27 times the largest oil field in history, Ghawar.

[oilprice.com] – Exxon’s Shocking Supply And Demand Predictions

[reason.com] – U.S. Oil Reserves Bigger Than Saudi Arabia’s

Note that the IEA doesn’t state at what price levels these 4.5 trillion barrel can be recovered. Regardless, there is enough oil left to set up a renewable energy base. The challenge is not to find new oil, the challenge is not to use it.

Nord Stream 2

With 1,222 km the longest sub-sea pipeline in the world. The US are against building Nord Stream 2, but 66% of the German population wants to see the pipeline build. Construction of Nord Stream 2 began in May 2018. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

Nord Stream I = 55 billion m3/year
Nord Stream II = 55 billion m3/year

That’s an amount of energy of 110 billion m3 gas = 1100 billion kWh or 1100 billion / 0.5 billion Europeans = 2200 kWh per European per year.

Rationale: supply security, read become independent from unreliable overland intermediaries like the Ukraine.

[wikipedia.org] – Nord Stream
[dw.com] – War and fuel: Angela Merkel’s headaches in Russia talks
[thelocal.de] – Construction begins on gas pipeline connecting Germany to Russia

German AfD populists pressing to get the pipeline built, explicitly calling to ignore US demands

Ecovat Modelling

[researchgate.net] – Improving an Integer Linear Programming Model of an Ecovat Buffer by Adding Long-Term Planning
[deepresource] – Ecovat Seasonal Heat Storage

Microlino

If you realize that the average occupation rate of your standard sedan is ca. 1.25 persons, meaning that a car mindlessly mainly moves 3.75 empty seats around… if you additionally realize that in a carbon-starved world, not because we run out of carbon but rather that we running into limits of the amount of carbon the atmosphere can handle, we cannot continue with our old ways… if you also realize that a car is mainly used for single person commuting (in Holland on average 34 km/day), shopping and business travel and not for happy families of 5 travelling to the seaside with dad-knows-best behind the steering wheel and mum distributing the sandwiches… these three realizations should really cause car designers to rethink traditional personal transportation assumptions.

Enter the Swiss-made Microlino:

Battery: 8 kWh or 14.4 kWh
Acceleration (0-50 km/h): 5 seconds
Range: 120 km or 215 km (with 14.4 kWh battery)
Maximum speed: 90 km/h
Price: 12,000 euros
Market-ready: 2019

Note: this could be the solution for those happy few who still will own a car. For the lesser Gods, the self-driving shared van could be the future.

[micro-mobility.com] – Microlino
[wikipedia.org] – Micro Mobility Systems
[cleantechnica.com] – The Tiny Electric Microlino Is The Ideal City Mobility Answer
[curbed.com] – The adorable Microlino car just got approved for European streets

Oh, and happy families can take the train to the sea-side, once or twice a year

Battolyser – 90% Storage Efficiency With Combining Batteries and Electrolysis

[source]

The idea: combining battery and hydrogen-production functionality in one device. Battery + electrolysis: battolyser. Players: Technical University Delft and Proton Ventures from Schiedam, Netherlands. The battery is Thomas Edison patented technology from 1901. The production of hydrogen was so far an unwanted side effect during charging of the battery. Researchers now want to turn this bug into a feature. The production of hydrogen begins when the battery is as good as fully charged. It is this combination that leads to an excellent overall storage efficiency of 90%. All you need is abundant available zinc, iron and water.

First experiments early 2019 with a 15 kWh prototype, but the university, energy giant Nuon and Proton are already thinking aloud about a 10 MW model

[wikipedia.org] – Nickel–iron battery
[wattisduurzaam.nl] – Hoe deze antieke accu uit Delft oneindig veel windenergie opslaat
[pubs.rsc.org] – Efficient electricity storage with a battolyser, an integrated Ni–Fe battery and electrolyser

Our results demonstrate a remarkable constant and a high overall energy efficiency (80–90%), enhanced electrode storage density, fast current switching capabilities, and a general stable performance. The battolyser may enable efficient and robust short-term electricity storage and long-term electricity storage through production of hydrogen as a fuel and feedstock within a single, scalable, abundant element based device.

Siemens Gamesa & Van Oord To Build 380 MW Fryslân Wind Farm

Power: 382 MW
Turbines: 89 4.3 MW Siemens-Gamesa
Operational: mid 2021
Construction cost: 500 million euro

[windparkfryslan.nl] – Official project site
[4coffshore.com] – Windpark Fryslân Offhore Wind Farm
[cleantechnica.com] – Siemens Gamesa & Van Oord Chosen To Build 380 Megawatt Fryslân Nearshore Wind Farm
[offshorewind.biz] – All Clear for Windpark Fryslân Construction

Developments in Growing Food in an Age of Climate Change

Scientists in the Netherlands say they are close to a breakthrough which will allow crops to be grown in deserts. Many say this could completely alter life on the African continent and even end hunger. World leaders meeting at the climate talks in Germany are being urged to commit to more funding for new agricultural projects in drought-stricken parts of the world.

• productivity: 900 head of lettuce per m2 (200 kg). Any other crop will do as well.
• 1 hectare (100m x 100m): 4 workers, mainly supervising. Planting, watering, harvesting, packaging, all automated
• production: around the year, completely planned, meaning little necessity for storage. Straight from the “field” to the super market
• these production facilities can be build next to Amsterdam, Stoke-on-Trent, Johannesburg, Riaydh, Reykjavik, anywhere. Almost complete independence from environmental conditions
• almost no transportation cost: production next to consumers
• lights from leds doesn’t take that much energy. And if you don’t stack, you can let in sunlight (Summer)
• Water requirements: near zero. All water remains in the building, apart from the small quantities embedded in the product

[groentennieuws.nl] – “900 kroppen sla per vierkante meter en slechts 4 arbeiders per hectare”

Hoover Dam to Become Mega-Battery

[source]

Date of first operation: 1936
Primary reservoir: 35.200 km3, 180 km
Generating capacity: 2.080 MW
Annual generation: 4.2 TWh
Project cost: $3B
Date operational start hydro storage: 2028

[wikipedia.org] – Hoover Dam
[spiegel.de] – Hoover-Damm soll Mega-Batterie werden
[cleantechnica.com] – LA To Turn Hoover Dam Into World’s Largest Hydro Storage
[nytimes.com] – The $3 Billion Plan to Turn Hoover Dam Into a Giant Battery

e.GO Life, City E-Vehicle for 12k Euro

New German e-vehicle grass-roots development. Price 15,900 euro minus 4,000 euro subsidy. Four-seater.

Motor: 20-40-60 kW
Range (city): 104-124-158 km
Range (NEFZ): 121-142-184 km
Battery: 14,9-17,9-23,9 kWh
Consumption: 10 km/kWh [*]
Weight: 880 kg
Production volume: 10,000/year
Production start: end 2018

[wikipedia.de] – e.GO Life
[spiegel.de] – Günther gegen Goliath
[cleanelectric.de] – Interview mit Prof. Dr. Schuh/CEO von e.GO

[*] Average commuting distance Holland is 34 km. Two standard solar panels with mid-summer irradiation would suffice to bridge this distance. Or 90 euro cent electricity per commuter trip against Dutch grid electricity prices, much cheaper than petrol.

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