Welcome again to everybody! Make yourself at home. In the time-honoured tradition of our sect, here is our weekly discussion thread.
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expand Energy and Peripheral Development News I Forgot to Post 1/?
17 May 2017 Zimbabwe on course to complete Kariba South Expansion Project [by December 2017] — Xinhua
Followup:
4 Aug 2023 President commissions (completed) US$1,5bn Hwange Power Station Expansion Project — The Chronicle (Zimbabwe)
8 April 2021 First Smart Electric Bus Fleet In Vietnam — VinBus.vn
10 May 2022 Cambodia builds up EV infrastructure to speed electric ambitions — Nikkei Asia
20 July 2022 China-Laos electricity supply achieves two-way transmission for the first time — Global Times
25 January 2023 Flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage — MIT
I had a better article for this before 🤔 oh well. Haven't seen as much discussion of this alternative storage tech for power stations! I've even seen flow battery vehicle concepts but the main thing is getting rid of the giga sized lithium ion bricks (we're using these for datacenters :squidward-nervous:) or uber expensive vanadium ion things. This shit is made out of plentiful materials.
March 26, 2023 Researchers develop electrolyte enabling high efficiency of safe, sustainable zinc batteries — Oregon State
Needless to say there is a LOT of zinc, it is also delicious & vegan 🍽️😋. Tests promise 50% efficiency when storing power & 80% when producing hydrogen, with an estimated life expectancy of ten years.
30 Mar 2023 Could Grinding Up Lithium Batteries Help Recycle Them? — Scientific American
The kind of plan that gets "greener" when it's actually using energy that isn't from fossil fuels.
6 June 2023 How a floating hydrogen farm has moved China closer to clean renewable energy — SCMP
16 June 2023 Nation makes leaps with floating wave energy — China Daily
If this seems at all redundant with other offshore renewables, consider it can be set up easily in areas without a grid connection, random outlying islands (no offense islands in the pacific but damn god damn), regardless of there being very deep water. Nifty form of hydropower IMHO
21 June 2023 Bolivia taps China, Russia's Rosatom in bid to unlock huge lithium riches — Reuters
30 June 2023 Sinopec's first green hydrogen plant starts production in Xinjiang — Reuters
3 Jul 2023 At 453 KM/H, China Tests World’s Fastest, New-Gen High-Speed Train That Is Safer, Energy-Efficient & Intelligent — Eurasian Times
I think they need to start giving these things personalities!
5 July 2023 ‘Global China’ is a big part of Latin America’s renewable energy boom — The Conversation
Despite what all the articles tying the green revolution to lithium (as if we're gonna stop consuming electronics at the current trajectory??) as a conflict mineral would have you believe it's kinda being blown out of proportion. You've got the lithium itself being extended with all kinds of tech being developed rn like lithium-sulfur batteries (6 January 2023 Lithium-sulfur batteries are one step closer to powering the future — ANL), cellulose additives that extend the # of recharges they get (4 Nov, 2022 Chinese scientists' new gel filling could triple lifespan of lithium batteries for EVs, drones — SCMP), & replacement of lithium with sodium (it has already begun 🕴️💼🪛 HAKADI Sodium ion 18650 3V 1500mAh Battery Original Na ion SIB battery Rechargeable Cell For E-bike Power Tools DIY 12V 24V 48V 72V Battery Pack). Looks laptop-sized to me! Green tech investment is not the ecological disaster that people who have no alternatives other than carbon sequestration told me it would be :shrug-outta-hecks:. (This is your cue to post links to devastation!)
8 July 2023 “A peaceful atom” on guard of Russia’s energy security — Eastern Herald
US/EU nuclear industries get ~12/20% of their nuclear fuel from Rosatom. Or maybe I made that up. You should check that.
2 August 2023 Global Race for Lithium Lands in Rural Brazil — NACLA (NYC-based NGO)
What a Sigma move. [dodging tomatoes]
3 Aug 2023 New photocatalytic system converts carbon dioxide to valuable fuel more efficiently than natural photosynthesis — CityU Hong Kong
No idea about the efficacy of this based off their claims, but have a gander
06.08.2023 UK Concerned About China's Possible Spying Using Imported Electric Cars — Sputnik
I think we did this one here
14 Aug 2023 China's ecological civilization a profound contribution to humanity — Global Times
You gotta love Carlos 😎
25 Sept 2023 Fracking Fallout: Is America's Drinking Water Safe? — OilPrice.com
Why not take your chances! What's the worst that can happen? Water catching on fire? Mass wildlife dieoff?
1 Oct 2023 Indonesian president launches Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, funded by China — Associated Press