All posts tagged: electricity

Revolutionary new jet engine turns electricity directly into thrust

Revolutionary new jet engine turns electricity directly into thrust

Published by skeptic

The global dependence on fossil fuels, especially in transportation, has dire consequences. These fuels are the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating global warming and harming respiratory health. However, a breakthrough from Wuhan University offers a glimpse of a future where jet propulsion relies solely on electricity and air. The Problem with Fossil Fuels Transportation fuels the world, but at a tremendous cost. The combustion of fossil fuels powers cars, planes, and industrial machinery, yet it significantly contributes to climate change. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation accounts for nearly 29% of greenhouse gas emissions. The search for sustainable alternatives has become critical. Professor Jau Tang and his team have developed a prototype jet engine that uses microwave air plasmas for thrust, a method that entirely sidesteps fossil fuels. The innovation has the potential to revolutionize air travel by eliminating carbon emissions. A schematic diagram of a prototype microwave air plasma thruster and the images of the bright plasma jet at different microwave powers. This device consists of a microwave power supply, an …

SMR designs suitable for Sweden’s future electricity production

SMR designs suitable for Sweden’s future electricity production

Published by skeptic

Work performed within the ANItA project identifies SMR designs suitable for electricity production in Sweden and points out the need for further research. In one of the ongoing initial projects within ANItA, a Swedish national competence centre for nuclear power technology, work is performed to identify small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) designs that are suitable for Sweden’s electricity generation in the relatively near future. The aim is, furthermore, to point out novelties compared with the current Swedish reactor fleet that might need further investigation. Suitable SMR designs SMRs are considered an option for adding new nuclear capacity in Sweden. The SMRs can be used for different purposes. In addition to electricity generation, the heat produced can be used for district heating to heat homes and commercial buildings or be supplied to various industrial processes, including hydrogen production. All these applications are investigated within ANItA. Various types of SMRs have been proposed, some based on the technology of current nuclear reactors and others intended for use in future Generation IV nuclear power systems. The types based …

Tripling clean electricity by 2030 achievable: International Energy Agency | Climate Crisis News

Tripling clean electricity by 2030 achievable: International Energy Agency | Climate Crisis News

Published by Sam

A global goal to triple the production of electricity from clean sources such as solar and wind power by 2030 is “ambitious but achievable”, says the world’s leading independent energy analyst. Nearly 200 countries, including the world’s biggest polluters, pledged themselves to that goal in Dubai last December under the auspices of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. That and an accompanying pledge to double energy efficiency in the next six years are designed to keep the world’s average temperature no higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial times. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell hailed the agreement as “the beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. In a new report out on Tuesday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says while official commitments cover only 12 percent of the goal at the moment, their domestic ambitions go further, covering 70 percent of the goal and putting them within reach of it. Half the newly installed renewable energy capacity would come in the form of solar panels, …

World will miss target of tripling renewable electricity generation by 2030 – IEA | Renewable energy

World will miss target of tripling renewable electricity generation by 2030 – IEA | Renewable energy

Published by skeptic

The world is off track to meet the goal of tripling renewable electricity generation by 2030, a target viewed as vital to enable a swift global transition away from fossil fuels, but there are promising signs that the pace of progress may be picking up. Countries agreed last December on a tripling of renewable power by the end of this decade. But few have yet taken concrete steps to meet this requirement and on current policies and trends global renewable generation capacity would only roughly double in developed countries, and slightly more than double globally by 2030, according to an analysis by the International Energy Agency. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said: “The tripling target is ambitious but achievable – though only if governments quickly turn promises into plans of action. Countries worldwide have a major opportunity to accelerate progress towards a more secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.” Governments should include targets and policies on renewables in their national action plans for the climate (called nationally determined contributions, or NDCs), which …

This new Texas power company’s electricity comes with a home battery

This new Texas power company’s electricity comes with a home battery

Published by skeptic

Image: Base Power Base Power just became the only licensed electricity provider in Texas to offer customers an all-in-one monthly energy service, home battery, and installation, and solar isn’t required. Base Power operates in deregulated areas of Texas, and Base Beta is available now to customers near Austin who can choose their power provider. Customers save on their monthly electric bills and benefit from backup power for one-tenth the upfront cost of comparable batteries and generators. The upfront cost is a one-time fee of $2,000 to cover installation, and Base offers fixed monthly pricing for electricity. A Base Power spokesperson told Electrek that it purchases 20 kWh white-label batteries that it owns, operates, and maintains for its customers. The company’s batteries have an expected 15-year lifespan. Base says it will take a bit longer to get owners of rooftop solar set up due to additional integration requirements. The company plans to add a solar + storage offering “in the future.” Texas is No. 1 in the US for the most power outages, and electricity prices across …

Renewable energy parks will speed progress towards net zero

Renewable energy parks will speed progress towards net zero

Published by skeptic

Co-location is a more efficient way to generate electricity. Solar and wind energy complement each other’s generation patterns both seasonally and daily, with solar panels producing electricity during the day and wind turbines operating more consistently throughout the day and night. They also help equalise production throughout the year, with stronger winds in the winter and more sun in the summer. For example, adding four 4MW wind turbines to an average-sized 50 MW solar site, would increase green energy production from around 50,000 MWh annually to over 100,000 MWh, effectively doubling the delivery of home-grown clean energy on a single site. Further, efficiently producing energy in areas close to where it will be used, reduces the need for costly and inefficient long-distance transmission, making co-location especially productive in highly-populated regions. Source link

Ukraine orders nationwide electricity rationing after Russian airstrikes

Ukraine orders nationwide electricity rationing after Russian airstrikes

Published by Sam

Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said they were preparing to order electricity rationing measures across the country following a major overnight missile strike by Russia — the latest in a relentless bombing campaign against civilian infrastructure. Brownouts “are possible throughout Ukraine” between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., the state energy provider, Ukrenergo, said in a statement posted on the Telegram social media platform. The statement cited a “shortage of electricity in the power system.” Source link

Putin’s a ‘Nazi,’ Zelenskyy says as Russia intensifies attacks on energy grid ahead of Victory Day – POLITICO

Putin’s a ‘Nazi,’ Zelenskyy says as Russia intensifies attacks on energy grid ahead of Victory Day – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

For decades, Moscow’s annual May 9 parade has been not so much a memorial to victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, as a carefully choreographed show of might and power. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the Kremlin has intensified attacks on Ukraine ahead of Victory Day to help its propaganda efforts — seeking to give Putin something to boast about in his annual speech on Red Square. This year, Russia’s forces were ordered to capture Ukraine’s strategic city of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region ahead of May 9. While they have yet to succeed in that task, the Russians have taken advantage of Ukraine’s shortage of weapons and troop exhaustion to rapidly gain territory, taking control of several small villages in the Donetsk region. Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Wednesday’s attacks were aimed mainly at civilian energy infrastructure, targeting power generation and electricity transmission facilities in the Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Vinnytsia regions. “The enemy wants to deprive us of the ability to sufficiently generate and …

Renewables supply 30 per cent of global electricity for the first time

Renewables supply 30 per cent of global electricity for the first time

Published by skeptic

The rapid growth of solar power in China has changed the world’s electricity mix Costfoto/NurPhoto/Shutte​rstock Renewables generated a record share of global electricity in 2023 thanks to the rapid growth of wind and solar power. The year marked a turning point in the transition to low-carbon energy, according to think tank Ember, with coal and gas power on the cusp of a long-term decline. Green electricity jumped from 29.4 per cent of total generation in 2022 to 30.3 per cent last year, a new high. This was driven by the rapid rollout of wind and solar power, particularly in China. Hydropower and other renewables, such as bioenergy, made up the remainder of renewable generation. Solar is by far the fastest-growing electricity source, increasing its share of generation from 4.6 per cent in 2022 to 5.5 per cent in 2023. That is the continuation of a long-running trend; since 2000, wind and solar power have gone from generating just 0.2 per cent of global electricity to a record 13.4 per cent today. The share generated by …

Renewable energy passes 30% of world’s electricity supply | Renewable energy

Renewable energy passes 30% of world’s electricity supply | Renewable energy

Published by skeptic

Renewable energy accounted for more than 30% of the world’s electricity for the first time last year following a rapid rise in wind and solar power, according to new figures. A report on the global power system has found that the world may be on the brink of driving down fossil fuel generation, even as overall demand for electricity continues to rise. Clean electricity has already helped to slow the growth in fossil fuels by almost two-thirds in the past 10 years, according to the report by climate thinktank Ember. It found that renewables have grown from 19% of electricity in 2000 to more than 30% of global electricity last year. “The renewables future has arrived,” said Dave Jones, Ember’s director of global insights. “Solar, in particular, is accelerating faster than anyone thought possible.” Solar was the main supplier of electricity growth, according to Ember, adding more than twice as much new electricity generation as coal in 2023. Chart showing annual percentage share of global renewable electricity generation since 2000 in three categories: wind and …