Sat, Nov 2, 2024

Opinion: Carbon capture and storage are key to a sustainable transition

Technology critical to the energy transition is not just about oil and gas

As discussion swirls around the objectives and potential impacts of the federal government’s plan for a “just transition,” it’s vitally important to emphasize that transforming Canada’s workforce for a net-zero economy cannot mean abandoning the country’s largest industrial sectors. Any such exercise needs to be focused on sustaining, not eliminating, jobs.

New technique from U.S. national lab promises to strip carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and factories at record-low cost

Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Lab have developed a technique that is able to pull carbon dioxide out of the exhaust flue of a power plant or factory for $39 per metric ton, the cheapest cost every reported in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

To construct a factory to pull carbon dioxide out of the factory exhaust flue with this technique and at this price would cost $750 million.

Renewables-only climate strategy is failing the world

…Solar and wind delivered just 9% of global electricity in 2020. Heating, transport and vital industrial processes account for much more energy use than electricity. This means solar and wind deliver just 1.8% of global energy supply.

Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhagen Consensus

California Power Problems Hit Texas

California transplants who moved to Texas no doubt thought they had escaped electric power outages. Think again. Texans this week were told to crank up their thermostats amid a brutal heat wave to avoid rolling blackouts. Some ultimatum: Swelter, or bake without power.

A coming copper shortage could derail the energy transition, report finds

An all-electric future depends heavily on copper, and looming supply shortfalls could hamper nations’ goals of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, according to a new report from S&P Global.

Unless significant new supply becomes available, climate goals will be “short-circuited and remain out of reach,” the report says.

Rethinking fossil and nuclear energy

As a union with thousands of members working in the energy industry—and with thousands more whose jobs depend on reliable and affordable energy across other sectors—the Boilermakers are acutely aware of the uncertain future of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Concerns about carbon emissions and nuclear accidents have driven many governments, NGOs and climate activists to urge abandoning fossil and nuclear power as rapidly as possible.

Pages

Top