Global Climate News: July 10-11

UK restarting onshore wind, China's draft rule for solar manufacturing, Inexpensive lead detection, Commercial-scale eMethanol, Ammonia in maritime

Top Stories

1. Since 2015, onshore wind farms in the UK were required to secure ‘proved community support’ as per provisions in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and consequently fewer new onshore farms were built. The new UK government is amending the framework, including removing these provisions, which will allow onshore wind development to resume. Enerdata | GOV.UK

2. China has published draft rules for setting up solar PV manufacturing that require a minimum capital ratio of 30% and set minimum efficiency requirements for different solar panel technologies, aiming to avoid manufacturing overcapacity. Reuters

3. Netherlands-based Lumetallix has developed an easy-to-use, inexpensive method for detecting lead on on painted surfaces like walls, dishes, toys and test soils. The kit uses a reagent - methylammonium bromide - that reacts with lead to form a photoluminescent compound, which glows under ultraviolet light. When the reagent is sprayed on a surface, lead-containing areas appear bright green under the light. The method is able to detect lead concentrations as low as 1 nanogram/mm². businesswire | Lumetallix | Lumetallix’s research in ACS, 2023

4. Sweden-based Liquid Wind is a developer of commercial-scale eFuel facilities, which produce eMethanol using CO2 captured from industrial flue gases and hydrogen from electrolysis of water. The first facility, with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes eMethanol per year, has been acquired by Danish energy firm Ørsted and is currently under construction. Another, with a capacity upto 130,000 tonnes eMethanol per year, is under development and expected to start production in 2027. Offshore Energy | Liquid Wind

5. More hydrogen-powered engines in the wild - ZeroAvia’s aircraft engines, Extreme H’s off-road racing car, Nikola’s trucks. pv magazine

6. Companies working on ocean energy - Equinox ocean turbines, UK-based Spiralis energy, Singapore-based Hann-Ocean Energy, Sweden-based Minesto, Spain-based Magallanes Renovables, Verdant Power, Scotland-based Orbital Marine Power, UK-based QED Naval

   Spiralis’s tidal power generation system is modular and can be 3D printed close to where it needs to be installed.

   Offshore Energy

7. Japan issues a warning for heatstroke. The latest issue from Works in Progress magazine looks at the human and economic costs of heat waves.

   Already, some estimates of the economic losses from extreme heat put it at 1.5 percent of GDP in the wealthiest regions and 6.7 percent in the poorest. That translates into a lower standard of living for everyone, not just those directly feeling the heat.

   The harms of extreme heat are growing. By 2100, nearly three quarters of the population may be exposed to dangerous environmental heat for at least 20 days each year, up from 30 percent. Heat-related mortality for people over 65 increased by 85 percent between 2000–2004 and 2017–2021

8. New research from MIT looks at the environmental impact of using ammonia for maritime transport. While carbon emissions will be avoided, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and unused ammonia will be emitted. Ammonia can increase particulate matter (PM) concentrations.

   we find that NH₃ could potentially form PM_2.5 with anions and acids in sea spray, which implies extra sensitivity of PM_2.5 to NH₃ emissions that could not be controlled by reducing NO_x and SO_x emissions alone

   As adoption of ammonia-fueled ships will be gradual, they will operate alongside fossil fuel-based ships that emit sulfur dioxide (SO₂). The presence sulphur dioxide, makes formation of particulate matter more likely when ammonia is emitted.

   For NOx emissions, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems are currently used, but their effectiveness with ammonia-powered ships is not yet known. The exhaust from ammonia engines contains more water vapour than diesel exhaust, which can make the SCR less effective.

   MIT News | Research Paper

9. New analysis using satellite data questions the validity of carbon credits issued for afforestation and avoided deforestation projects in the US and Canada. The Guardian

10. Good read from Deloitte on reducing scope 3 emissions in the Chemicals industry.

You can find all previous posts of this newsletter here.

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