Energy News - Batteries become Cali Largest Energy Source

Really surprised it has taken this long for China to make a major oil and gas find. They have massive shale oil fields but geology makes collecting it much harder. if they can develop their deepwater drilling sector this could decrease their demands for import which drives down global demand.

China discovers massive oil reserve, eyes reduced foreign dependency (msn.com)

The Chinese state-owned enterprise CNOOC has found that its deepwater oil field in the South China Sea holds much more oil than originally thought. According to Reuters, the discovered deposits contain over 100 million tons of crude oil.

Reuters reports that the reserves are located in CNOOC's deepwater oil field, Kaiping South, which is near Guangdong province in the Pearl River Delta. These reserves consist of light crude oil.

Following this discovery, CNOOC has increased its production target for the year by about 8 percent, aiming for a record output of 700-720 million barrels, largely due to the findings in the Bohai Sea and the aforementioned South China Sea.

With significant investments in oil and natural gas extraction, Beijing aims to become independent from foreign oil suppliers. China is the biggest consumer of oil from Middle Eastern countries, which inadvertently lessens the United States' influence in that region.

 

relatively new hunt is on for naturally occurring hydrogen. this will be interesting to watch. could supplement natural gas feed to power plants and other power users of gas.

Vast reserves of clean hydrogen fuel could be hiding beneath our feet (msn.com)

It's a relatively new prospect. In fact, scientists didn't believe it was possible for large amounts of hydrogen to accumulate underground until about 12 years ago, according to Ellis, who leads USGS efforts to map the world's potential reserves of underground hydrogen.

That's when an oil and gas company assessed a mine that had exploded in Mali and found it was full of hydrogen gas.

Hydrogen forms deep underground when water reacts with iron-rich rock. In the US, two long stretches of this rock are a promising place to look for hydrogen reserves, and efforts are already underway. One stretch runs from Kansas up to Ontario, then down to Michigan. The other is offshore, running the length of New Jersey to Georgia, according to Ellis. USGS started looking for these reserves in 2021 and has drilled several wells, with more planned this year.

Ellis told the Senate committee that research is also ongoing in France and Australia, and active exploration efforts are underway in Brazil and Colombia. In February, researchers announced they had discovered a hydrogen reservoir in a mine in Albania.

 

MIT scientists confirm new solid core magnet can work which "changed the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40 in one day."

MIT researchers achieve fusion energy breakthrough - ReadWrite

In a breakthrough that paved the way for unlimited carbon-free energy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers successfully tested a novel high-temperature superconducting magnet capable of generating a world-record 20-tesla magnetic field strength, a crucial milestone for enabling practical fusion power plants.

Nearly three years after achieving this test, MIT researchers have now published a comprehensive analysis validating their record-smashing superconducting magnet technology, a key step toward commercial reactors that could provide unlimited clean power

“Overnight, it basically changed the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40 in one day,” said Dennis Whyte, former director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. “Now fusion has a chance of being economical.”

At the heart of the breakthrough is a magnet made from a superconducting material called REBCO that can operate at a higher temperature of 20 kelvins, eliminating the need for complex insulation between conductor windings. This “no-insulation” design, proved highly stable and simplified fabrication.

 

US Air force going to fund a production size test. drill down, drill across through hot rock at depth, drill up. cold water in one end, hot water out the other to power turbine to make electricity. No energy required other than the heat of the earth. on demand so no battery storage required. seems simple enough that I'm surprised it isn't already in operation. Don't need volcanoes, just hot rock at depth

Air Force partners with startup to tap virtually limitless power source: '[As] close to the holy grail as you can get' (msn.com)

Eavor has now received a contract for the technology — which it has "flawlessly" demonstrated at a facility in Alberta, Canada, according to Recharge — from the United States Department of Defense.

As Recharge reported, Eavor believes it can deliver renewable energy for less than $50 per megawatt-hour, using a process that involves drilling a hole several kilometers deep and then pouring water into the cavity.

While it is similar to other geothermal systems already in use, Eavor has developed a closed-loop system that embraces a thermosiphon method, where cold water is heated, turned to steam, and then cooled again for use.

By using a two-tunnel system, which is connected below the surface horizontally, this method means there is no need for an energy-sapping pump, which makes typical geothermal processes less efficient and more expensive.

 

ingenious bit of engineering to change the way to build and maintain and the economics of offshore windmills.

Company develops revolutionary technology that allows wind turbines to practically build themselves: 'It will be a gamechanger' (msn.com)

"Gigantic aluminum spiders" might sound like the stuff of nightmares or an antagonist in an anime series. However, for one Norwegian company, they could be the future of the wind energy industry. WindSpider, a tech company that focuses on onshore and offshore wind turbines, has developed a new self-erecting crane system that could revolutionize the way turbines are built.

The WindSpider crane uses the tower of the wind turbine itself as part of the crane while performing installation, maintenance, repowering, and decommissioning of bottom-fixed and floating offshore wind turbines. This allows operations to be performed on floating turbines on site and at sea and for a lifting capacity that can be scaled to over 1,500 tons with no height limitations.

Understandably, the company is attracting a lot of interest from investors. It has already received funding from Innovasjon Norge, ‍IKM, IK Group, Advanced Control, Breivik Group AS, and DNV. It recently received additional investment from Leirvik Group AS to begin building the first actual WindSpider unit as well.

 

Geologists, and energy companies, are becoming more and more convinced that there are large pockets of naturally occurring hydrogen waiting to be discovered and marketed. Carbon 0 fuel, on demand power....should be interesting to follow along. Between satellite abilities and AI, this treasure hunt shouldn't take long.

A global gold rush for buried hydrogen is underway — as hype builds over its clean energy potential (msn.com)

Research published earlier this month by Rystad Energy showed that 40 companies were actively searching for geologic hydrogen deposits by the end of last year — up from just 10 in 2020. The consulting firm, which described the pursuit of geologic hydrogen as a "white gold rush," said the hype stems from hopes that the untapped resource could be a "gamechanger" in the clean energy transition.
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Almost two decades later, subsequent exploration at the site found geologic reservoirs containing nearly pure hydrogen gas. Today, the resource is being used to provide power to the Malian village of Bourakébougou. Last year, researchers found what may be the world's largest geologic hydrogen deposit to date in France's eastern Lorraine region. The unexpected discovery further boosted interest in its clean energy potential.
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Geoffrey Ellis, a research geologist at the Energy Resources Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), told CNBC that there could be a vast amount of naturally occurring hydrogen buried in underground reservoirs around the world. Based on current understanding, Ellis said there is likely to be about 5 trillion metric tons of geologic hydrogen in Earth's interior, although most of this is likely to be too deep or too far offshore to be economically recovered.

Nonetheless, Ellis said that just a few percent of geologic hydrogen recovery might well be enough to supply all projected demand for 200 years.

 

mild winter and more renewables has dampened demand which is driving prices down. hopefully that shows up in our electric bill and in our electrical cost to industry

Morgan Stanley Warns of Potential Multi-Decade Highs in Global Gas Glut in Coming Years (msn.com)

Natural gas prices have experienced a significant downturn amid a global oversupply, exacerbated by a milder-than-anticipated winter season. The diminished demand for heating, particularly in key liquefied natural gas (LNG) consuming regions, has contributed to the downward pressure on prices.

The recent surge in LNG activity, characterized by heightened prices and profits, has prompted substantial investment in the sector. Morgan Stanley notes that the industry is witnessing an unprecedented expansion, with over 150 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG capacity currently under construction. This surge in capacity, set against a market already exceeding 400 mtpa, signals substantial supply growth and underscores the potential for significant oversupply in the gas market in the years ahead.

Currently, natural gas prices are hovering around $1.83 per metric million British thermal unit (MMBtu), reflecting a notable 22% decline since the beginning of the year. The warmer-than-usual winter conditions in key LNG-consuming regions have dampened demand for heating, further contributing to the downward trajectory of gas prices.
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The impact of low natural gas prices varies across different countries, with Europe emerging as a primary beneficiary of the current market conditions. According to Zhi Xin Chong, countries in Europe stand to benefit the most from the lower prices, particularly in light of Russia’s supply curtailment. With Europe’s LNG imports expanding to 35% of its total gas supply mix following the disruption in Russian supplies, the affordability of fuel imports is crucial, especially considering that a significant portion is purchased on a spot price basis.

India and Southeast Asia also stand out as key beneficiaries of the lower LNG prices. Morgan Stanley identifies India and Thailand as among the primary beneficiaries, given that imported gas constitutes a substantial portion of their energy supplies—ranging from 30% to 50%. India, in particular, has a highly elastic demand for gas, meaning that consumers are likely to increase their purchases as prices decline. Thailand, on the other hand, ranks among the top gas consumers per capita among emerging market economies.

 

DOE to spend $60M to build three different geothermal projects to test different designs/environments

Department of Energy announces $60M investment into essentially endless source of energy: 'These projects will help us advance' (msn.com)

Chevron's pilot project will utilize new drilling and stimulation techniques to access this heat energy near a geothermal field in California's Sonoma County. Fervo will work within Utah's Milford Renewable Energy Corridor and adjacent the DOE's Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) field laboratory with an aim to produce at least 8 megawatts of power from each of three wells. Meanwhile, Mazama aims to advance the science needed to operate in extremely hot conditions.
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According to the DOE, geothermal resources currently provide about 4 four gigawatts of electricity in the United States but have the potential to contribute 90 gigawatts to the U.S. grid by 2050. That's enough to power more than 65 million homes and will help the country reach its goal of a carbon-free grid by 2035. Geothermal can also be used to help heat homes.

 

naturally occurring hydrogen (gold hydrogen) collected from wells if found to be commercially viable would seem to result in an increase the total water vapor while artificially produced hydrogen (green hydrogen) should be a net zero on the water vapor front. blue hydrogen, made from nat gas, should also be a net zero on the water vapor front

 

here is good read on hydrogen but it doesn't discuss gold hydrogen exploration

Why Texas firms and the energy industry are gambling on hydrogen as a clean energy alternative (msn.com)

Texas already generates more hydrogen than any other state, but producers use natural gas as a feedstock, burn fossil fuels to separate it and release carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Texas produces 2 million tons of hydrogen annually, releasing more than 10 kilograms of CO2 for every kilogram of hydrogen produced, the International Energy Agency reported. There are methods for isolating hydrogen that release fewer emissions but are more expensive. The challenge is lowering the cost of generating clean hydrogen to levels that compete with other clean energy sources, such as renewable fuels and low-emission electricity. The Department of Energy is funding the HyVelocity Hub, based in Houston, to develop clean hydrogen capabilities along the Gulf Coast. The earliest projects will develop blue hydrogen, which utilizes the existing natural gas-based process with equipment added to capture the carbon dioxide and inject it underground.
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Blue hydrogen is the least expensive type of clean hydrogen, but while the equipment can capture more than 90% of the exhaust CO2, it requires a lot of energy that can emit CO2. Some experts also doubt whether CO2 injected into old oil and gas wells will remain underground forever. Proposed green hydrogen plants use electricity from wind and solar facilities to split water into hydrogen and oxygen molecules in a process called electrolysis. However, electrolyzers are expensive, and competition for renewable power is growing. Green hydrogen can cost more than double the price of blue hydrogen. Lastly, pink hydrogen is made using electricity from nuclear power plants. Since energy is 85% of the input cost to produce clean hydrogen, cheaper nuclear electricity can make hydrogen less expensive.
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The business plans behind many hydrogen projects assumed that wind and solar power would generate excess electricity and drive down prices. The growing need for data centers and artificial intelligence facilities, however, is expected to triple the U.S. demand for electricity. Companies have also seen competition from other technologies narrow the prospective customer base for hydrogen. Lower-cost, higher-capacity batteries make more sense for cars and trucks, and small nuclear and geothermal projects will likely generate cheaper electricity than burning hydrogen in power plants. Three sectors offer promise, though. Hydrogen makes sense for heavy vehicles, such as long-distance trucks and cargo ships, which must carry large quantities of fuel and travel between fixed locations.



‘Gold’ hydrogen: The next clean fuel? - E&E News by POLITICO (eenews.net)

“Gold” hydrogen got a boost in September from the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, which announced a $20 million funding opportunity. The agency currently is selecting projects. The U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado School of Mines launched a gold hydrogen research consortium that includes Chevron and BP the same month.

Multiple startups, meanwhile, are moving forward this year on projects. Australia-based HyTerra is planning to soon drill for hydrogen at a well in Kansas on its own. Koloma, which publicly discussed its activities last summer for the first time and is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, is actively looking for places in the U.S. to drill for gold hydrogen.
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HyTerra is also partnering with Denver-based Natural Hydrogen Energy on a Nebraska site, Project Geneva, that the companies say is the world’s first wildcat well dedicated to gold hydrogen. At the Kansas site, HyTerra announced in December it completed an assessment of the amount of hydrogen and helium resources underground. The company could begin drilling this year.

Another Denver-based company, Koloma, is exploring places in the U.S. where it can drill for hydrogen. The company backed by Breakthrough Energy announced in July that it raised $91 million. “[Gold] hydrogen can be produced 100 percent domestically using American talent, know how, and equipment, making it a key pillar of domestic energy independence,” said Paul Harraka, Koloma’s chief business officer, in a statement to E&E News.

 

heat the water with renewables when available and extra heat from industry, store it underground, heat the homes with it during the winter.

should be able to pair this with data centers to pull the heat off the data centers, just need to hot water piping network to distribute it.

90-GWh thermal energy storage facility could heat a city for a year (newatlas.com)

An energy supplier in Finland has announced the upcoming construction of an underground seasonal thermal energy storage facility about the size of two Madison Square Gardens that could meet the heating demands of a medium-sized city for up to a year.
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The company's solution for the city of Vantaa in the south of Finland is to construct huge underground caverns to store thermal energy, which can then be pumped to homes and business via an existing district heating network when needed.

The project has a total volume of 1.1 million cubic meters (38.85 million cubic feet), including processing facilities, and will be built into the city's bedrock at around 100 m (330 ft) below ground – though the deepest parts of the setup could go down as far as 140 m. Three caverns will be created, each measuring 300 m (984.25 ft) in length, 40 m (131.2 ft) in height and 20 m (65.6 ft) in width.

These will be filled with hot water by a pair of 60-MW electric boilers, powered by renewables when it's cheap to do so. Pressure within the space allows for temperatures to get as high as 140 °C (284 °F) without the water boiling over or steaming away. Waste heat from industry will also feed the setup, with a smart control system balancing energy sources.

The Varanto facility is reported to have a total thermal capacity of 90 GWh when "fully charged" – enough to meet the year-round domestic heating needs of a "medium-sized Finnish city."

 

twice in the last month, power stored in batteries by solar and wind became the largest provider of energy in California.

California briefly used batteries as its biggest source of power twice in the last week (msn.com)

• California hit a record last week as battery storage became the biggest power provider in the state.
• Batteries beat out renewables, nuclear, natural gas, and other sources two evenings in the past week
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The first time — Tuesday last week around 8:10 p.m. PT, according to GridStatus.io — batteries reached a record peak output of 6,177 megawatts. For about two hours, that made electricity generated earlier and stored in batteries the single largest source of power in the Golden state, eclipsing real-time production from natural gas, nuclear, renewable sources like wind and solar, and all other sources of energy.

It happened again on Sunday evening, this time for a few hours around 7:10 p.m. PT, per data from GridStatus.io. In that instance, which broke Tuesday's record, batteries reached a peak output of 6,458 megawatts.