Month: April 2021

The concept of storing renewable energies in stones has come one step closer to realization with the construction of the GridScale demonstration system. With a capacity of 10 MWh, the system will be the largest electricity storage facility in Denmark.

AARHUS UNIVERSITY

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PICTURE: IF THERE IS AN EXCESSIVE ELECTRICITY FROM WIND OR SOLAR, THE ENERGY STORAGE WILL BE CHARGED. This is done through a system of compressors and turbines that generate heat energy from … show more. CREDIT: CLAUS RYE, STIESDAL STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES.

Pea-sized stones that are heated to 600 ° C in large, insulated steel tanks form the heart of a new innovation project that aims to achieve a breakthrough in the storage of intermittent wind and solar power.

The technology that stores electrical energy as heat in stones is called GridScale and could be a cost-effective and efficient alternative to storing solar and wind power in lithium batteries. While lithium batteries can only be supplied with energy cost-effectively for short periods of up to four hours, a GridScale power storage system supports the power supply for longer periods of time – up to about a week – cost-effectively.

“The only real challenge in building a 100 percent renewable energy supply is that we cannot store the electricity generated in windy and sunny weather for later use. Demand and production do not follow the same pattern. There are no commercial solutions to this problem yet, but we hope that we can achieve this with our GridScale energy storage system, ”says Henrik Stiesdal, founder of the air conditioning company Stiesdal Storage Technologies, which is behind the technology.

In short, GridScale technology is all about heating and cooling basalt, which is crushed into tiny, pea-sized stones in one or more insulated steel tanks. The storage is charged through a system of compressors and turbines that pumps thermal energy from one or more cool stone-filled storage tanks into a similar number of hot stone-filled storage tanks when there is excess wind or solar energy.

This means that the stones in the cold tanks get very cold, while in the hot tanks they get very hot. in fact up to 600 ° C. The heat can be stored in the stones for many days and the number of sets of stone-filled tanks can be varied depending on the length of storage time required.

When electricity is needed again, the process is reversed, so the stones in the hot tanks get colder while they get warmer in the cold tanks. The system is based on an inexpensive storage material and a mature, well-known technology for charging and discharging.

“Basalt is a cheap and sustainable material that can store large amounts of energy in a small space and can withstand countless charges and discharges from the storage system. We are now developing a prototype for the storage technology to show the way to solve the problem of storing renewable energies – one of the greatest challenges for the development of sustainable energy worldwide, ”says Ole Alm, head of development at the energy company Andel, who is also part of the project.

The GridScale prototype will be the largest storage facility in the Danish electricity system and a major challenge will be to make storage flexibility available in the electricity markets in such a way that the best possible value is achieved. As a result, this will also be part of the project.

The exact location of the prototype warehouse has yet to be determined. However, it will definitely be in the eastern part of Denmark in South or West Zealand or on Lolland-Falster, where in particular the production from new large PV systems is growing faster than consumption can keep up.

The full name of the innovation project is “GridScale – low-cost electricity storage on a large scale” and will run for three years with a total budget of DKK 35 million (EUR 4.7 million). The project is funded with DKK 21 million (EUR 2.8 million) from the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program (EUDP).

In addition to the companies Stiesdal and Andel, the partner group includes the University of Aarhus (AU), the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Welcon, BWSC (Burmeister Wain Scandinavian Contractor), Energi Danmark and Energy Cluster Denmark.

The partners will carry out an energy system analysis and design optimization for a stone storage facility as well as optimize the technical concepts and develop the GridScale technology into a market-ready, scalable solution.

For example, the European energy system model developed by AU is combined with the model developed by DTU for optimizing turbines in order to gain an insight into the potential role of stone storage in a European context and to optimize the design:

“The transition to renewable energies is changing the way the energy system works – simply because wind and solar energy are not necessarily produced when we need them. Therefore, we need to find out how the technical design can best be adapted to the energy system and in which countries and when in the green transition the technology has the greatest value. We will try to identify the combination of energy technologies that offer the greatest value for the storage solution. I think that stone storage technology has great potential in many parts of the world and could be of great advantage in the green transition, ”says Associate Professor Gorm Bruun Andresen from the Institute of Mechanical and Production Engineering at Aarhus University.

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From EurekAlert!

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A new series of images recently arrived on Earth from JunoCam, the visible light camera aboard the Juno spacecraft at Jupiter. The camera has offered a breathtaking view of the world of gas giants since the spacecraft arrived in 2016. Citizen scientists and imaging enthusiasts act as the camera’s virtual imaging team, taking part in key steps in the process by suggesting areas on Jupiter to take pictures and do the imaging work.

This main picture, edited by Kevin Gill, is another piece of madness: a look straight into a huge storm.

And we like Kevin’s stance on this whole process:

Jupiter’s swirling atmosphere looks like classic oil paintings in these images.

How big are these storms?

The JunoCam website has all of the raw data, as well as a gallery of processed images from people around the world. Kevin Gill, one of our favorite photo editing gurus, regularly posts to Twitter and has a Flickr gallery of the work he’s done with data from Juno, the Mars rovers, and others, including his personal astrophotography and landscape images.

During his time in orbit, Juno made discoveries about the internal structure, magnetic field, and magnetosphere of Jupiter and found that atmospheric dynamics are far more complex than previously thought.

The mission was recently extended with the goal of keeping Juno running until September 2025 – or how long the spacecraft can continue to operate in the harsh environment around Jupiter.

While Juno has only focused his attention on the giant planet so far, the mission expansion will include observations of Jupiter’s rings and large moons, with targeted observations and close flyby of the moons Ganymede, Europa and Io planned.

This will be the first close flyby of these moons since the Galileo mission 1995-2003, so we look forward to more amazing images.

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Guest essay by Eric Worrall

As the demand for Australian coal climbs to new records, the Democrat John Podesta has threatened “consequences” for Australia’s defiance against Biden’s global climate protection initiative. However, there are forces in motion that make the climate of the Biden government geopolitically irrelevant.

Podesta: Quad will demand that Australia do more to tackle climate change

By Latika Bourke
April 28, 2021 – 11:58 p.m. SaveShareNormal text sizeLarge text sizeVery large text size

London: Senior Democrat John Podesta has warned Australia that its Quad peers will face its weak carbon reduction targets as the Biden government puts climate change at the center of their security agenda.

Podesta, a policy advisor, chairs the Washington-based Center for American Progress, led Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and co-chaired the Obama Transitional Committee in 2008.

In conversation with the Rekindling Hope podcast, moderated by Labor climate spokesman Chris Bowen and former Labor candidate Sam Crosby, Podesta said Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s insistence that technology will govern emissions reduction “just won’t reduce it”..

“The Biden government will expect much more than what it received from the government at the summit,” said Podesta. “Everyone is moving and Australia is lagging behind and at the end of the day there will be important ramifications.”

…

Biden’s net zero emissions target by 2050 is shared by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Both India and Japan have pledged higher cuts than originally planned for 2030.

Like Morrison however, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not promised any new targets for reducing India’s carbon emissions – The developing giant is the third largest emitter in the world.

…

Read more: https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/podesta-quad-will-demand-australia-does-more-on-climate-change-20210427-p57mwa.html

Why is Australia so relaxed about ignoring the Biden government’s climate threats?

The reason is our Asian market. Asia needs Australian coal and iron ore like never before.

An increasingly aggressive China is investing money in building a fleet that is already somewhat equivalent to the firepower of the US Navy, at least for offshore operations in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.

China’s neighbors, including India, are increasingly concerned about China’s growing sea power and have tacitly launched their own military emergency structures. Vietnam, which has been largely occupied by China or at war with China for the past 2,000 years, is building its maritime militia. Even Japan is building its military to counter the growing threat from China. Of course, Taiwan also takes the threat from China very seriously.

Trillions of dollars are pouring into Asia’s preparations for the next major military confrontation, and Australia is cashing in and selling coal and iron ore to anyone who asks, including China. A significant portion of the Asian superpowers’ growing military budgets is being spent on buying Australian coal and iron ore.

With money on this scale on the table and the promise of much more to come, no one in the Australian government cares what the Biden government has to say about carbon tariffs, climate change or reducing Australian coal exports.

Canada’s Green Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once said: “No country would find and leave 173 billion barrels of oil in the ground.” I think the same goes for Australia’s coal and iron ore bonanza.

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Today we say goodbye reluctantly, but with great pleasure, to Michael Collins. The NASA astronaut died on April 28, 2021 at the age of 90. Collins flew on the historic Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and also on Gemini 10 in 1966.

As a command module pilot, Collins was the only member of the Apollo 11 crew to remain in orbit while his astronauts were the first to land and leave on the moon. But his lovable manner means that he will be most remembered for his wit and humor, passion and humility, unwavering demeanor, thoughtful reflection and inspiring words as the author of several books.

Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins. Image Credit: GeekoutNewYork

Collins always felt like one of the happiest people who ever lived. “Usually you’re either too young or too old to do what you really want,” he said in a 2009 interview with himself. “But remember, Neil Armstrong was born in 1930, Buzz Aldrin in 1930, and Mike Collins in 1930. We came at just the right time. We have survived and succeeded in dangerous careers. But in my case, at least, it was 10 percent smart planning and 90 percent blind luck. Put HAPPINESS on my tombstone. “

Collins died after battling cancer, according to his family’s testimony:

“We regret to announce that our beloved father and grandfather passed away today after a valiant battle with cancer. He spent his last days peacefully with his family by his side. Mike always met the challenges of life with grace and humility and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way. We will miss him terribly. But we also know how happy Mike was to have lived the life he did. We will grant his wish to celebrate this life, not to mourn. Please join us lovingly and joyfully in his keen wit, calm sense of intent, and wise perspective he gained both by looking back at Earth from the perspective of space and looking out over calm waters from the deck of his fishing boat has won from. “

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin examine films made from their mission. Photo credit: NASA

NASA remembered Collins as “a true pioneer and lifelong advocate of exploration,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk in a statement, and as a “tireless promoter of space …”. He has undoubtedly inspired a new generation of scientists, engineers, test pilots and astronauts. “

During the Apollo 11 flight, Collins was described as “the loneliest man in history” as he flew alone and orbited to the other side of the moon, even cut off from radio communication with Earth. But he said he felt part of the mission all the time.

“I have the world in my window.”

Michael Collins took this photo of the lunar module returning to the command module after landing on the moon. With the earth in the background, all of humanity can be seen in this photo, except for Collins himself. Pic.twitter.com/5StJrvzB0T

– NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) April 28, 2021

“I don’t want to deny a feeling of loneliness,” he said. “It is there, reinforced by the fact that radio contact with the earth is abruptly broken the moment I disappear behind the moon. I am alone now, really alone, and utterly isolated from every known life. It’s me. If counted, the score would be three billion plus two on the other side of the moon, and one plus God knows what on this side. “

Collins was an Air Force pilot before he was elected an astronaut in 1963. He never flew again after Apollo 11, but he didn’t complain that he didn’t get a chance to walk on the lunar surface.

“As an astronaut, I always thought I had the best job in the world and I still think so,” he said, “but for me it was over when it was over.”

Even so, he said he would look up and see the moon and think, “Oh my god! I was there!’ I was up there you see Despite all these years, this somehow surprises me. “

Astronaut Michael Collins in a model of the Apollo 11 spacecraft during training. Photo credit: NASA

Collins left NASA in 1970 and joined the State Department. He then became director of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. He also started writing about his experiences. Carrying Fire: An Astronaut’s Travels was a bestseller and is often considered one of the best astronaut autobiographies.

He also wrote “Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places” (1976), a children’s book about his experiences, “Liftoff: The Story of America’s Space Adventures” (1988), a story of the American space program “Mission to Mars”. ”(1990), a non-fiction book on human space travel to Mars. Collins was also an artist, painting watercolor landscapes.

Astronaut Michael Collins took photos of spacecraft Gemini 10 during the mission in Earth orbit. Photo credit: NASA

Not only did Collins consider himself lucky, he never missed the opportunity to thank the hundreds of thousands of people who worked in the early days of the US space program and ultimately made it possible to send astronauts to the moon.

“This journey from us to the moon may have looked easy or easy to you,” he said in a transmission to Mission Control on the journey from the moon back to earth in 1969. “I want to assure you that it did not. This operation resembles the periscope of a submarine. All you see is the three of us, but beneath the surface there are thousands and thousands of others and, I would like to say, thank you all. “

Official crew photo of the Apollo 11 crew. Left to right are the astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., pilot of the lunar module. Photo credit: NASA

Personally, I have always been inspired by Mike Collins and feel that we have now lost a true national treasure. A few years ago I wrote a song about him called “Who’s Flying the Ship When Mike Collins Goes to Sleep?” You can listen to it here. The song is a retrospective, if not whimsical, look at the Apollo 11 mission through the eyes of the young girl I sat in front of the television in 1969 and watched the story.

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