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World’s first carbon capture facility powered by wind energy coming to Texas

November 22, 2024
The world’s first direct air capture (DAC) facility powered by wind energy is set to be built in Tom Green County, Texas. After 2030, the facility, dubbed Project Concho, is projected to remove 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. That is the equivalent of taking 116,628 gas-powered vehicles off the road for a year, according to the developers.

Unlike traditional carbon capture systems that trap emissions directly at their source, DAC technology can be deployed anywhere and pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. However, because carbon dioxide is more diluted in ambient air compared to emission sources, these systems require significantly more energy to capture those greenhouse gases.

Studies estimate that DAC operations can consume two to three times more energy than conventional carbon capture methods, raising concerns about their environmental efficiency when creating emissions in the process of removing them.

In an effort to ensure a cleaner and more sustainable approach to reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide, Project Concho will run on wind energy.
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World’s first ag emissions tax, includes livestock flatulence

November 19, 2024
Denmark is introducing the world’s first tax aimed at agricultural emissions, such as cow flatulence. This comes as part of an agreement finalized Monday, Nov. 18 between the Danish government and farmers, industry groups and environmentalists.

The new tax looks to address the farming sector, which is the country’s largest source of carbon pollution.

Starting in 2030, Danish farmers will be required to pay approximately $43 for every ton of carbon dioxide equivalent their operations emit. This fee is set to increase to around $106 per ton by 2035.

The average farm in Denmark emits about 5.6 tons of carbon dioxide annually. About half of those emissions stem from methane released by livestock through burps and manure.

Officials estimate that in the first year, the new tax could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.8 million tons. That’s a reduction comparable to the annual emissions of a small city.

In addition to the emissions tax, Danish officials are also targeting the agricultural sector’s reliance on chemical fertilizers.

Denmark shares the lead for the highest proportion of cultivated land, at 60%. That means fertilizer usage throughout the country is high. Experts say the high use leads to to harmful nitrogen runoff.

This pollution has reportedly depleted oxygen levels in the nation’s waters to alarming levels, leading to notable marine life loss.

To combat this, the government plans to allocate $6.1 billion over the next two decades to purchase approximately 15% of Denmark’s farmland.

Officials plan to repurpose the land and plant one billion trees. Researchers estimate a reforestation project like this could absorb up to a decade’s worth of carbon emissions.
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World’s top polluting cities unveiled by Al Gore, Climate TRACE at COP29

November 15, 2024
At the United Nation’s annual climate summit, COP29, experts unveiled a list of the world’s top polluting cities, with data revealing the massive impact of urban emissions on global climate challenges. The findings come from Climate TRACE, a coalition co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. The group uses satellite and ground-based observations combined with artificial intelligence to track air pollution across the globe.

“With a coalition of 12 members and more than 100 contributors, thousands of people are working to make Climate TRACE more effective every single month,” Gore said during the summit.

The analysis names Shanghai as the highest-polluting city on the planet. It produced more greenhouse gas emissions annually than entire countries like Colombia or Norway. Tokyo ranks second, with emissions so high that the city would place among the top 40 most polluting nations if it were an independent country. Rounding out the top five are New York, Houston and Seoul, with each city emitting over 140 million metric tons of air pollution every year.

“Climate TRACE can help public- and private-sector leaders identify emissions trends and pinpoint high-impact opportunities to reduce pollutants, including those that lead to deeply inequitable public health outcomes,” the emissions tracking organization said in a statement.

Climate TRACE emphasized that its research offers a more complete picture of global emissions, providing insights into more sectors and sources than traditional monitoring methods. Its data will be continuously updated by scientists and analysts from diverse organizations to track urban contributions to climate change, as they work to keep tabs on a problem which Gore referred to as “the single biggest health threat facing humanity.”
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Private jet emissions driven up nearly 50% by world’s wealthiest individuals

November 8, 2024
A recent study by a European research team has highlighted a significant surge in carbon pollution from private jets, with emissions increasing by 46% since 2019. The report, published Thursday, Nov. 7, analyzed data from over 18.5 million flights across approximately 26,000 private aircraft during the last five years.

The report found a two-hour flight on a private jet generates the same amount of pollution as the average person would in an entire year.

In 2023, private flights taken by around 250,000 of the world’s wealthiest individuals contributed 17.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. That equates to the annual emissions of Tanzania.

“This report presents further proof that billionaires are causing the climate crisis,” Jonathan Westin, executive director of the Climate Organizing Hub, said. “They are clinging to their private jets and oil profits while regular people see increasing floods, hurricanes and wildfires.”

The study’s lead author, Stefan Gössling, who also serves as a transportation researcher at the business school of Sweden’s Linnaeus University, noted that many of these flights weren’t business-related, and instead, a large portion were actually leisure trips.

“The damage is done by those with a lot of money and the cost is borne by those with very little money,” Gössling said. “The problem is that the 26,000 aircraft and the individuals using them will say ‘We are just a small group. We are not relevant in terms of emissions.’ But everybody else will look at the small group and say, ‘Look these are the super-emitters, if they are not relevant, how can we be relevant?”

According to the research team, the highest-emitting private jet user tracked in the study produced 2,645 tons of carbon dioxide from flights alone. That’s more than 500 times the global average per person.

Although the aviation sector as a whole accounts for about 4% of global carbon emissions, private jets are responsible for 1.8%, nearly half of the industry’s total.
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World’s largest floating solar plant debuts, drawing environmental concerns

November 8, 2024
Taiwan has deployed the world’s largest floating solar power plant, expanding an earlier installation to more than double its previous energy output. The plant now provides enough electricity to power 74,000 Taiwanese households and is expected to offset 136,000 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to the emissions produced by burning around 150 million pounds of coal.

“Located in Changhua County in Taiwan, this groundbreaking project spans four plots totaling 347 hectares and showcases the next generation of renewable energy innovation,” HEXA Renewables, the developers behind this project, said in a statement. “Built on expertise, innovation and a commitment to sustainability, the project benefits the Taiwanese community by enhancing sustainable energy security while supporting global efforts in the fight against climate change.”

However, residents have raised concerns about the impact of this renewable energy infrastructure on the area’s ecosystem. Many are concerned about the potential effects on four protected bird species and the risk of water contamination.

“As the project connects to the open sea, any impact to surface runoff quality could affect coastal water quality. There is potential for increased turbidity; contamination from use of equipment (oils); and excavation of soils potentially releasing heavy metals,” a summary commissioned by HEXA Renewables found. “Public concerns regarding the impact of floating (photovoltaic) on intertidal biodiversity were raised.”

Communities are calling for ongoing monitoring of the area around the site to ensure environmental safeguards. Project developers have committed to establishing emergency response plans to address potential contaminant leaks into surrounding waters.

This project is set to help Taiwan get closer to its goal of installing 20 gigawatts worth of renewable energy by next year. That’s enough clean power to keep about 6 million average U.S homes running.
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Clean energy sector reacts to potential policy shifts after Trump victory

November 6, 2024
The clean energy sector is in the midst of reacting to President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Experts suggest that while his administration may slow the growth of renewable power infrastructure throughout the U.S., it will not be able to stop its proliferation altogether.

This is in part because the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, a key climate policy passed under the Biden administration, will be difficult to repeal, despite Republicans’ recently acquired control of the Senate.

Red states have actually received most of the jobs and economic impacts provided by the IRA, a trend which could lead some GOP lawmakers to preserve the decade’s worth of planned government subsidies for renewable projects that this legislation provides.

However, policy analysts say that absent a repeal of the IRA, Trump’s administration could still make it more difficult for the clean energy funding it calls for to be dispersed. This could potentially be done by cutting or restricting the budgets of the federal agencies that deliver IRA grants and loans.

Trump could also issue executive orders to reduce or place a moratorium on federal leasing areas for renewable projects, such as offshore wind.

Investors have already reacted to the potential policy changes, as clean energy stocks saw sharp declines following the election. Wind energy developers experienced a drop of up to 14%, while solar company shares fell by as much as 40%, underscoring market concerns about the future of federal support for renewables.

Trump campaign officials have stated that their energy agenda will diversify the nation’s power supply sources, reduce electricity costs and save taxpayers billions of dollars which would have been used to subsidize renewable projects.

Conversely, a report by the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation claims that Trump’s policies could increase household utility bills by a combined $32 billion and kill about 1.7 million clean energy jobs over time.
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Texas cities consider renewable-powered aerial gondolas for future transit

October 31, 2024
A new mode of urban transit may eventually glide across the Texas skyline, as several cities explore the potential of electric gondolas powered by renewable energy. However, these potential projects have drawn criticism, with some questioning the costs, commuter value and the reliability of similar endeavors in the past.

Swyft Cities, the company that implements the proposed aerial system dubbed Whoosh, aims to bring zero-emission cable cars to Texas. The company touts benefits such as quick installation times, flexible nonstop routes and a reduced environmental footprint.

Google originally showcased this transportation infrastructure, before the team developing it left the tech giant to commercialize the product.

According to Swyft Cities, the Whoosh system could be built in months. It also said it offers a faster timeline than many other conventional mass transit projects.

The gondolas are modeled after on-demand services like Uber and would run continuously. They would also have the ability to take flexible routes by navigating an elevated guideway.

The company claims its gondolas require only about one-sixth of the power used by typical buses or rail. It also claims a one-hour ride uses the same amount of energy as a 10-minute shower.

“Whoosh provides the ’perfect Uber’ – fast, on-demand, nonstop trips with a great view. Vehicles are waiting for you at stations, instead of the other way around,” Jeral Poskey, CEO of Swyft Cities, said. “Whoosh can connect places across North Texas in new ways that will get you there quickly and conveniently, enabling you to glide over street traffic with zero emissions.”

Several Texas cities, including Arlington, Dallas, Frisco, DeSoto and Plano in the northern part of the state, and Sugar Land in the Southeast, have expressed interest.

Meanwhile, local critics cite high costs and question its feasibility. They point to the Las Colinas monorail outside Irving, Texas, which eventually ceased operations in 2020.

Although Whoosh hasn’t launched in any U.S. city, Swyft Cities’ engineering partners are moving forward with a pilot project in Queenstown, New Zealand. That project is expected to go live by 2027.
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Japanese nuclear reactor restarts 13 years after 2011 earthquake, tsunami

October 30, 2024
After Japan was battered by a record setting earthquake and tsunami in 2011, all of Japan’s 54 commercial nuclear reactors were taken offline for safety assessments and upgrades. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant saw a major meltdown that spread contaminants over the surrounding area, particularly damaging the fishing industry.

The 2011 disaster had dire consequences for many, and damages totaled approximately $300 billion, the costliest natural disaster in recent history. The major nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima plant saw many in Japan turn away from nuclear energy, including the government itself.

Now, politicians have softened on nuclear power, and Japan has a goal of hitting carbon neutrality by the year 2050. The Onagawa nuclear power plant, 62 miles north of the Fukushima plant, was damaged by the 42-foot-high tsunami wave 13 years ago. However, the wave did not disable the reactor’s cooling system.

Officials have since installed a 95-foot-tall tsunami wall to prevent future incidents. After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspected the Onagawa facility, a review was conducted. After the review, Onagawa was given the green light to restart the second reactor. It started generating power on Tuesday, Oct. 29, according to the plant’s operator.

While nuclear reactors are expensive to maintain and many in Japan still worry about the safety of the facilities in times of crisis, the country seeks to recommission these reactors one at a time. Onagawa’s reactor is number 13 out of 33 total reactors set to be brought back online since 2011.
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Biden administration announces $3B in funds to reduce emissions at US ports

October 29, 2024
Last year, the international shipping industry generated 706 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, equal to burning nearly 80 billion gallons of gasoline and hitting pollution levels that would rank this sector as the world’s seventh-largest carbon emitter if it were a country. In an attempt to address this issue domestically, the U.S. government has announced a major funding initiative aimed at reducing emissions at American ports.

As part of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is allocating nearly $3 billion toward green projects at U.S. ports.

These investments will go towards 55 zero-emission port equipment, infrastructure and planning projects across 27 states and territories, which the White House says will cut more than three million metric tons of carbon pollution annually — roughly the equivalent of the yearly emissions from over 700,000 gas-powered cars.

“Ports are the linchpin to America’s supply chain,” President Joe Biden said. “The new $3 billion funding we’re delivering today will make ports green all across America, cut port operating costs, strengthen supply chains, make American businesses more competitive and keep consumer prices down, slashing carbon pollution.”

These projects will implement carbon-free cargo handling equipment and vessels, as well as clean power systems, hydrogen fueling infrastructure and solar power generation, among other green technologies.

“Our nation’s ports are critical to creating opportunity here in America, offering good-paying jobs, moving goods and powering our economy,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Delivering cleaner technologies and resources to U.S. ports will slash harmful air and climate pollution while protecting people who work in and live nearby ports communities.”

This announcement comes after a three-day strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association earlier this month. The work stoppage came amid fears within the union about the potential impacts of automation on job security, concerns that Biden addressed while announcing this green port initiative, emphasizing that the new technology would not replace workers with automation.

“Making sure all new port equipment funded by the clean ports program will be operated and maintained by people, not by robots, is going to protect those jobs far into the future,” Biden stated.
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Could this powder be the key to solving climate change?

October 24, 2024
Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have developed a yellow powder that can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Known as COF-999, this material could be a game-changer in the fight against climate change.

The porous, lightweight powder acts like a sponge, trapping CO2 in its microscopic pores. Researchers said the powder can capture CO2 10 times faster than existing methods.

They say just half a pound of COF-999 can capture as much carbon dioxide as a large tree does in a year. Unlike other carbon capture technologies, COF-999 is durable enough to be reused for hundreds, or even thousands, of cycles.

The material also requires less energy to release the trapped carbon, potentially lowering the overall cost of carbon capture.

The key innovation behind COF-999 is its ability to trap CO2 in its structure. Chemicals called amines bind to carbon dioxide molecules, according to scientists.

The powder’s effectiveness was tested outdoors, where it was exposed to fluctuating CO2 levels in the air. In every test, the powder completely removed the carbon dioxide from the air as it passed through, leaving none detectable on the other side.

The next challenge, according to researchers, is scaling up the use of COF-999 in large, industrial facilities. Such facilities would resemble oil refineries, with vast structures packed with COF-999 working to filter the air.

The study, published in the journal Nature, is part of a growing effort to make carbon capture more efficient and cost-effective.
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