Carbon emission reduction: News and technology

[Brian Peacock]

[Brian Peacock]

Not sure I thought this was even possible

An Australian farmer has held the first carbon-neutral cattle sale – here’s how it works
Seven hundred breeding cows and heifers reared in a ‘carbon neutral farming system’ sold in NSW on Thursday. But can a live cow be carbon neutral?

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... gloucester

With caveats ....

...The director of Agricore, Hayden Hollis, said annual soil carbon tests across Mackenzie’s farm were conducted in accordance with Clean Energy Regulator (CER) guidelines. While the regulator’s methodology is widely used by the industry, a consortium of Australian soil scientists have called for flaws in the scheme to be “addressed as a matter of urgency”.

Agricore’s data is proprietary and could not be viewed by Guardian Australia.

One of those scientists is Dr Elaine Mitchell from the Queensland University of Technology. She says intervals of at least five years are usually required to detect statistically significant soil carbon changes.

Prof Richard Eckard, an agricultural economist from the University of Melbourne, said soil carbon should be measured on a 10-year running mean to account for seasonal fluctuations, 70% of which is driven by rainfall patterns....

[JimC]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-05/ ... /105999452

Broken Hill's hard-rock geology could hold part of the solution to Australia's energy storage problem as the country shifts to renewables.

A 200-megawatt, $1 billion facility built by Canadian company Hydrostor near the historic mining city will be Australia's first large-scale compressed air energy storage facility, capable of powering up to 80,000 homes for a day.

The Silver City Energy Storage Centre will be able to store energy for about eight hours, longer than lithium-ion batteries, which typically hold about four hours of charge in large grid-scale batteries.

That means solar energy generated during the day can be soaked up and then released through the night.

Abundant daytime renewable energy is wasted because of a lack of storage, and this figure is growing as more renewables come online.

It is estimated Australia will need up to 20 times more energy storage by 2050, and simply adding more lithium-ion batteries is not the solution because of their high cost and the limit on the number of hours they efficiently store energy.

Energy storage is a critical element in the process of increasing our use of renewable energy sources. This is an interesting alternative to large batteries.

[pErvinalia]

I wonder why only 8 hours. Would have thought it would be almost unlimited storage time.

[JimC]

I think that the design is for providing a night's worth of power from a day's solar, so that's the 8 hours expected of normal operations, even if it could be longer in theory.

[Brian Peacock]

I'm guessing this is a site-specific opportunity, as sealing mines and guaranteeing their geological viability is going to vary quite widely.

Energy storage as heat, pressure or gravity etc is probably better for social use than as electrons, given the resources, costs and long-term stability of electron storage and the huge amount of storage that's required.

[Brian Peacock]

Use of molten salts tanks for seasonal thermal energy storage for high penetration of renewable energies in the grid
2024. open access.

Abstract
Energy storage is acknowledged a key technology to meet the challenges posed by the energy transition. Short-term grid-connected storage, based on Li-Ion batteries, is becoming commonplace but seasonal energy storage at grid-scale will be needed for deep decarbonisation of the electrical power system. Pumped hydropower is considered to be the only mature technology for such applications, but this paper demonstrates that two-tanks molten salts systems, that are used today in commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, can also be considered a mature technology that can be used at large scale for seasonal energy storage. This was established by evaluating the annual heat losses of molten salts tanks using validated models of these systems. The results show that the heat losses in a very well insulated molten salts tanks are around 1 K/day, which would result in good economic performance of the power block even if storage was required for up to months.

[macdoc]

Hard rock mines are suitable for pressurized storage as are salt domes.

Electron storage degrades over time tho some grid scale batteries are long lived.
Ideal is pumped water storage. Norway could supply backup for all of Europe.

Snowy 2 for all of Australia

AI Overview
Snowy 2.0 gets green light - Australian Renewable Energy Agency
Snowy 2.0 is Australia's largest pumped-hydro energy storage project, expanding the existing Snowy Mountains Scheme to act as a giant "water battery" for the National Electricity Market (NEM). It links the Tantangara and Talbingo reservoirs via 27km of underground tunnels and an underground power station, pumping water uphill during low demand and releasing it through turbines to generate 2,000MW of on-demand power when needed, supporting Australia's renewable energy transition.
How it Works (Pumped Hydro Principle):
Charging (Pumping): When cheap, abundant renewable energy (solar/wind) is available, Snowy 2.0 uses it to power pumps that move water from the lower Talbingo Reservoir to the upper Tantangara Reservoir.
Discharging (Generating): When energy demand peaks, water is released from Tantangara, flowing downhill through the underground power station, spinning reversible turbines to generate electricity.
Closed Loop: The water returns to Talbingo, creating a closed system where the same water can be used repeatedly, making the most of available resources.

Key Features:
Capacity: Adds 2,000 megawatts (MW) of generation and 350,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of storage.
Underground Power Station: A massive facility located 800 meters underground.
Reversible Turbines: Six giant Francis pump-turbine units that can both pump and generate.

On-Demand Power: Provides fast-start, stable energy crucial for integrating intermittent renewables like solar and wind.
Significance:
Grid Stability: Acts as a large-scale battery, providing essential flexibility and backup for the grid.
Renewable Support: Underpins Australia's shift to a low-carbon economy by storing renewable energy.
Water Recycling: Maximizes water usage by recycling it through the system.
Status:
Construction is well underway, with the first power expected around 2027 and full commercial operation by 2028.
Snowy 2.0 – delivering next generation renewable energy
State of the Service Report 2023-24. ... Snowy 2.0 is the largest committed renewable energy project in Australia. It will underpi...

Australian Public Service Commission (APSC)
www.smec.com

[Svartalf]

Use of molten salts tanks for seasonal thermal energy storage for high penetration of renewable energies in the grid
2024. open access.

Abstract
Energy storage is acknowledged a key technology to meet the challenges posed by the energy transition. Short-term grid-connected storage, based on Li-Ion batteries, is becoming commonplace but seasonal energy storage at grid-scale will be needed for deep decarbonisation of the electrical power system. Pumped hydropower is considered to be the only mature technology for such applications, but this paper demonstrates that two-tanks molten salts systems, that are used today in commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, can also be considered a mature technology that can be used at large scale for seasonal energy storage. This was established by evaluating the annual heat losses of molten salts tanks using validated models of these systems. The results show that the heat losses in a very well insulated molten salts tanks are around 1 K/day, which would result in good economic performance of the power block even if storage was required for up to months.

molten salts? isn't that the kind of reactor that made the Russian Alfa class subs exceptional, but also such a PitA that they built only 6 of the class?

I mention reactors because I guess that those molten salts storage things will be linked to to water heating system for when the energy is needed... and my question is, won't there be a problem if enough of the stored energy is given back for the salts to cool enough not to be molten anymore?

[aufbahrung]

buried a mile underground I think salts cooling down isn't the problem they'll be having if they build it

[macdoc]

These storage systems all imply that new energy is added to the system if not daily then in a short period of time....that would keep the molten salts viable short of an ice age...and yes underground would help tho not a great deal. Without refreshed energy, all batteries will run down.