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July 22, 2022
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Featured Stories
Cryptomining and its many costs
Yousaff Habib
Following a ban on mining cryptocurrency in China, the United States has become a hub for cryptomining. With 38% of all global computing power dedicated to mining Bitcoin coming from the US, and other altcoins being similarly over represented, cryptocurrency and mining has taken a firm foothold in the US. For those uninitiated with what cryptomining is, simply put, it is solving complex problems using computers in exchange for cryptocurrency. The many computers involved require huge amounts of power, which has multiple negative effects. A recent report from US lawmakers has revealed that in upstate New York, the influx of cryptomining resulted in residential electricity bills “up to $300 higher than usual”. Moreover, it revealed that mining results in substantial amounts of carbon emissions – with the energy used to mine Bitcoin and Ethereum in 2021 resulting in 80 million tons of CO2 emissions. This news is troubling as cryptomining is only projected to grow across the US. In Texas, where massive cryptomining growth is slated for the next 4 years, an already strained power grid will need drastic measures to compensate for this growth. Cryptomining may prove a valuable endavour, but its energy and carbon costs are an important factor we must consider while pursuing it.
Cleaner Nova Scotia Power
Marc Vermette
In 2019, Nova Scotia’s power generation grid relied primarily (over 50%) on coal.
Later, in late 2021, the province passed the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act. The new act created many climate change goals spanning the following decade, one of which being a gradual withdrawal from coal-based electricity, which was to be fully eliminated by 2030.
Electricity generation by source in Nova Scotia, 2019. Credits to CER
Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced up to $255 million in new funding for clean energy in Nova Scotia.
$125 million of the funds are to be used for new wind power projects, with the remaining $130 million going to four battery sites located across the province.
The Canadian east coast has some of the highest average wind speeds in Canada.
Canada Wind Speed at 100-Meter above Surface Level. Credits to NREL.
This new development is expected to provide clean energy, jobs, and other benefits to both residents and local Indigenous communities.
“This is an investment we’re making in the future of Nova Scotia, by recognizing the work that has been done but needs to continue to be done on greening the grid here,” said Prime Minister Trudeau.
Oil and gas GHG cap
Marc Vermette
The federal government released more details on its planned oil and gas emissions cap. Ottawa proposed two designs to meet their goal of decreasing emissions in the oil and gas industry by 42% by 2030:
The first option is a cap-and-trade system, where emission allowances would be auctioned and/or distributed to emitting facilities. This would allow trades to be made between lower and higher emitting facilities. The overall allowance would decrease over time, enforcing the gradual decline in the emission cap.
The second option is to, through cooperation between Federal and Provincial Governments, increase the cost of emissions to oil and gas facilities. This would encourage the facilities to consider alternatives when it comes to production of oil and gas products.
Oil and gas sector greenhouse gas emissions, Canada, 1990 to 2020. Credits to Canada.ca
“The cap will focus on emissions and will not be a cap on oil and gas production,” said Canadian Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, “It will maximize opportunities to invest in decarbonizing the sector while accounting for evolving energy security considerations.”
The government is currently taking feedback from the industry, with plans to unveil the final design of the emissions cuts in early 2023.
Europe’s Energy Crisis
Debosree Mukherjee
Europe is currently facing a record-setting heat wave that is straining its energy infrastructure. During soaring demand, power plants are operating at below capacity and pipelines are reducing flows to cope with the scorching heat. Nuclear power plants have lowered outputs due to the river water becoming too hot. Wind power and hydropower generation have also decreased because of the heat wave. With Russia reducing natural gas supply, the continent was already bracing for an energy crisis this winter. The heat wave accelerated this as demand for electricity to cool homes and offices soared. IEA has urged European nations to take urgent and coordinated action to prevent a disastrous natural gas supply crunch this winter if Russia cuts off supply. Five immediate measures have been proposed
- Introduce auction platforms to incentivize EU industrial gas users to reduce demand
- Minimize gas use in the power sector
- Enhance coordination among gas and electricity operators across Europe
- Bring down household electricity demand by setting cooling standards and controls
- Harmonize emergency planning across the EU at the national and European level
Last Week’s Stories
Copper and…
Erica Beattie
Earlier this week, energy analyst Daniel Yergin told Financial Post that copper is the “basic metal of electrification”. The International Energy Agency has more information on minerals and clean energy, as well as some great visuals proving Yergin’s point.
Minerals used in clean energy production
Minerals used in EVs VS conventional cars
Unfortunately, Yergin also predicted a supply-demand gap in this critical mineral that could potentially impede global plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, along with other clean energy goals. Yergin and his team of analysts compiled a 122-page report that goes into the details of the copper market dynamics, geopolitics, and economic ramifications for copper in our society. Newer clean energy technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines, EVs along with their batteries and charging stations, require a substantial amount of copper. The report estimates that copper supply will have to double by 2035 in order to meet this demand. This means going from the current 25 million metric tonnes per year to 50 million metric tonnes in the next 13 years. The dilemma will be how can we find a way to achieve this great increase in the supply of copper in such a short amount of time in order to satisfy the new demand? Yergin’s report elaborates on this and outlines two possible scenarios he and his team have come up with.
more copper
Debosree Mukherjee
A new S&P Global study shows that as the world is moving away from fossil fuels and towards an all-electric future, a copper supply shortage may hamper the 2050 net-zero emissions target. According to the study, the energy transition will be much more dependent on copper than the current energy system.
- An EV needs 2.5 times more copper than an internal combustion engine vehicle
- Solar and wind power needs two and five times more copper per MW of installed capacity than power generated using gas or coal
- Copper-made cables, transistors, and inverters are crucial in the infrastructure that transports renewable energy
Forecasts show that the demand for copper will almost double to 50 million metric tons by 2035. The surge of demand will be caused by fast and large-scale developments of EV, charging infrastructure, solar and wind power, and batteries. The demand is predicted to be over 53 million metric tons in 2050. That’s more than all the copper consumed in the world between 1900 and 2021!
This will cause serious shortfalls since building new copper mines or expanding existing ones will take more time than available to increase supply and meet the demand surge. According to an IEA estimate, a new mine takes 16 years to be developed. Recycling and increasing capacity utilization of an existing mine are the main sources of additional supply.
According to the Rocky Road Scenario, at the current recycling and capacity utilization rate, annual supply shortfalls will be almost 10 million metric tons in 2035.
In the High Ambition Scenario, all-time high recycling levels and aggressive growth in mine capacity utilization will still see the deficit will be 1.6 million metric tons in 2035, higher than any previous shortage.
US inflation at 40-year high!
Debosree Mukherjee
In June, US inflation increased to 9.1%, the highest since November 1981! This was above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate. Inflation was driven by high oil and gas prices, as the data show that energy contributed to almost half of the all-items increase in the June consumer price index (CPI).
This should not be surprising since energy prices increased 41.6% over the past year. Gasoline rose 11.2% on a month-over-month basis, and 59.9% over the last 12 months. It was the largest 12 month increase in this index since March 1980. Natural gas rose 8.2% in June which was the largest monthly increase since October 2005. Electricity, bucking the trend a bit, rose 1.7%.
Canada is also dealing with high inflation at 7.7% with fears of a four-decade high 8% inflation soon. To curb inflation, Bank of Canada raised its policy rate to 2.5% from 1.5% and said more hikes would be needed. This is the highest increase since 1998.
Irving invests in hydrogen
Keshinee Moonian
Irving Oil is expanding hydrogen capacity at its refinery in New Brunswick in a bid to lower carbon emissions and offer clean energy to customers.
Irving Oil might be on its way to buying a five-megawatt hydrogen electrolyzer which will create two tonnes of hydrogen a day using electricity from the local grid.
Hydrogen is used to lower the sulphur content of petroleum products like diesel fuel, but producing hydrogen using natural gas creates carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, Irving Oil is using water and electricity to produce “clean hydrogen” through a process called electrolysis. According to Irving, the company is the first to invest in electrolyzer technology.
“New Brunswick Power’s electrical system includes 14 generating stations powered by hydro, coal, oil, nuclear and diesel,” according to The Canadian Press.
This investment also allows the company to store and make hydrogen available to the marketplace. Thanks to this technology, Irving will be able to “unlock pent up demand for hydrogen as an energy transition fuel for logistics organizations.”
Irving Oil invests in hydrogen to offer clean energy to customers by lowering emissions
Nuclear’s small footprint
Yousaff Habib
A recent study published in the Journal of Cleaner Production detailed research into the environmental impact of nuclear energy. The study uses total material requirement (TMR) which is a comprehensive life cycle assessment to measure the impact of nuclear power. The study found that mining, uranium processing and plant construction had the biggest share in the total environmental impact of nuclear power. Moreover, the study found that mining method played a large role on total resources expended, but a small role in greenhouse gas emissions. Ultimately, researchers calculated that the TMR coefficient of nuclear power generation is 20% that of coal, 23% that of oil, and 35% of natural gas. This implies that nuclear power has a TMR comparable to renewable energy such as solar.
Comparison of Nuclear TMR to other sources
Nuclear energy has long been touted as low carbon energy source, but this study lends further credence to its use, showcasing that it is a low resource energy source as well. Nuclear energy remains an important consideration in energy generation moving forward.
For in depth reading on the methods and data used please refer to the original study
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