04 07 2023
Noticias sobre energía
 TMEC vive semana clave
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TAGS: Sector energético, TMEC, Política energética, Pemex, CFE, México, EUA, Canadá
 There’s a lot of talk about hydrogen’s potential. But transportation
costs represent a big challenge
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TAGS: Energy sector, Energy efficiency, Hydrogen, Renewable energy, Fossil fuels, Natural gas
 Renewables are saving Texas. Again. So give them their due.
 TAGS: Energy sector, Renewables, Electricity, Coal, Natural gas, Nuclear, Solar, Wind, Fossil fuels
TMEC vive semana clave
BY STAFF ON JULY 04, 2023.
Las representantes comerciales de México, Estados Unidos y Canadá se reunirán en
Cancún el fin de semana.
Los representantes comerciales de México, Estados Unidos y Canadá celebrarán una
reunión los días 6 y 7 de julio en Cancún, para abordar asuntos relacionados con el TMEC,
en donde se espera que se dialogue sobre la disputa del sector energético que mantiene en
vilo inversiones de por lo menos 20 mil millones de dólares.
Las principales asociaciones empresariales del sector energético han estado presionando al
representante comercial de los Estados Unidos, Katherine Tai, en la que solicitan a la
administración del presidente Joe Biden que utilice “todas las herramientas disponibles”
para que México cumpla con el TMEC en energía.
Las asociaciones han acusado a la actual política energética de México de obstaculizar la
competencia para fortalecer a Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) y la Comisión Federal de
Electricidad (CFE).
La disputa de Estados Unidos y Canadá contra México por incumplir las reglas del -MEC en
el sector energético, podría ser la punta del iceberg de un conflicto en donde se esperarían
más arbitrajes contra el país, los cuales podrían costar a nuestro país más de 22 mil millones
de dólares.
La reunión será entre la ministra de Comercio de Canadá, Mary Ng, la representante
comercial de Estados Unidos, Katherine Tai, y la secretaria de Economía de México, Raquel
Buenrostro, se realizará como parte de la tercera reunión de la Comisión de Libre Comercio
del acuerdo trilateral.
Los funcionarios escucharán durante los dos días a representantes del sector privado y
actores laborales sobre cómo el tratado puede beneficiar a los trabajadores y a las
pequeñas empresas de los tres países.
Además de la disputa energética, también se espera que se aborden temas como el
conflicto sobre el maíz transgénico, además del fallo sobre las reglas de origen del sector
automotriz.
https://oilandgasmagazine.com.mx/2023/07/tmec-vive-semana-clave/
There’s a lot of talk about hydrogen’s potential. But transportation costs
represent a big challenge
BY ANMAR FRANGOUL ON JULY 04, 2023.
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While there’s a huge amount of excitement about the potential of hydrogen, there
are also undoubted challenges.
The transportation of hydrogen from production site to user is a hugely important
factor to consider when it comes to the sector’s expansion.
The U.S. Department of Energy says key challenges “include reducing cost,
increasing energy efficiency, maintaining hydrogen purity, and minimizing
hydrogen leakage.”
The buzz around hydrogen has gotten increasingly loud in the past few years — many see
it as an important tool in reducing the environmental footprint of heavy industry and
helping economies hit net-zero goals.
The green hydrogen sector, which is centered on producing it using renewable sources of
energy like wind and solar, has drawn particular interest and boasts some high-profile
backers.
They include German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who in 2022 called it “one of the most
important technologies for a climate-neutral world” and “the key to decarbonizing our
economies.”
In the world of business, multinationals from Iberdrola to Siemens Energy are also looking
to make plays in green hydrogen.
But while there’s a huge amount of excitement about the potential of hydrogen — the
International Energy Agency describes it as a “versatile energy carrier” — there are also
undoubted challenges.
For a start, the vast majority of hydrogen production is still based on fossil fuels, not
renewables — a fact clearly at odds with net-zero goals.
And when it comes to green hydrogen specifically, production costs are a significant issue,
and will need to be reduced in the years ahead.
Transporting hydrogen from production sites to users is another equally important factor
to consider.
“Hydrogen is pretty expensive to move,” Murray Douglas, head of hydrogen research at
Wood Mackenzie, told CNBC during an interview.
“It’s more difficult to move than natural gas ... technically, engineering wise … it’s just
harder,” he added.
Douglas is not alone in highlighting some of the hurdles in delivering hydrogen.
The U.S. Department of Energy, for instance, notes key challenges “include reducing cost,
increasing energy efficiency, maintaining hydrogen purity, and minimizing hydrogen
leakage.”
The DOE adds that more research is required to “analyze the trade-offs between the
hydrogen production options and the hydrogen delivery options when considered together
as a system.”
Location important
In relation to the logistics surrounding green hydrogen in particular, one area that will need
attention is the location of production facilities.
Often, these are earmarked for areas where sources of renewable energy are abundant —
such as Australia, North Africa and the Middle East — but many miles away from where the
hydrogen will actually be used.
Wood Mackenzie’s Douglas referenced transportation options when reflecting on the
investment horizon for the next 10 years.
“You can obviously pipe it, but you probably need a dedicated pipeline,” he said, noting that
this would likely need to be a new build and close to end-users.
The only other realistic option in this investment horizon, he said, relates to exporting the
hydrogen as ammonia.
“You produce the hydrogen, the green hydrogen, and then you would synthesize it into
ammonia with nitrogen,” he said.
The shipping of ammonia was, Douglas noted, “a pretty established technology and industry
— there’s already a bunch of receiving ports in place.”
This ammonia could then be sold directly to end users, such as fertilizer producers.
An alternative option would be to “crack the ammonia back into hydrogen,” although this
would not be without its own issues.
“As soon as you start ‘cracking’ back into hydrogen use, you start to incur some … quite big
energy losses,” Douglas said.
Efficient delivery system needed
In a statement sent to CNBC, Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, the CEO of industry association
Hydrogen Europe, was bullish about the prospects for green hydrogen.
He said it would “become a global commodity,” before stressing the importance of having
“an efficient delivery system.”
Chatzimarkakis also highlighted the need for a certification program, because “green
hydrogen needs to prove that it is sourced from renewable energy.”
Despite some clearly big obstacles, partnerships and programs related to the supply and
distribution of green hydrogen are starting to take shape.
Earlier this year, for example, Greenergy and Octopus Hydrogen — the latter is part of the
Octopus Energy Group — announced they had started a “green hydrogen delivery
partnership.”
Elsewhere, German firm Enertrag says it’s been “operating a tanker and transport trailer to
deliver large quantities of green hydrogen to customers” since 2021.
And back in 2022, Madrid-headquartered energy firm Cepsa said it would work with the
Port of Rotterdam to develop “the first green hydrogen corridor between southern and
northern Europe.”
Sticking point
Though the technology and knowledge for hydrogen production and delivery are there, one
sticking point remains.
“The industry knows how to transport hydrogen,” Wood Mackenzie’s Douglas said, adding
that the energy and chemicals sectors have been transporting it for “a long time — it’s not
new, it’s just expensive.”
Expanding on his point, Douglas said getting production costs down is key. The lower those
are, the more manageable transportation costs would become.
“I’m not sure if there’s any sort of magical ... cost reduction technology that’s going to come
into the transportation side of the equation,” he added.
“We’re not suddenly going to find … a better material to ship hydrogen through,” he said.
“If you’re liquefying it, you have to get it very cold, and that’s just expensive,” he went on
to add. “If you’re turning it into ammonia, there’s a cost in there, and then there’s a bunch
of challenges around toxicity.”
“They know how to do all of these things,” he went on to conclude. “It still just comes down
to cost.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/04/green-hydrogen-is-getting-lots-of-buzz-but-costs-are-asticking-point.html
Renewables are saving Texas. Again. So give them their due.
BY CATHERINE RAMPELL ON JULY 04, 2023.
This summer, like last summer, Texas has battled a brutal heat wave that regularly reaches tripledigit temperatures. This summer, like last summer, the heat wave triggered record levels of energy
demand. This summer, like last summer, there have miraculously been no rolling blackouts; in fact,
this year, the state’s grid operator has so far asked for just one day of voluntary energy conservation.
And this summer, like last summer, renewables have been the heroes of the story — yet they remain
curiously vilified by politicians in the Lone Star State.
In recent years, renewable energy has been ramping up across Texas. The state has rapidly increased
solar capacity, for instance, enabling as much as 16,800 megawatts of solar power to be produced
on the grid as of the end of May. That’s roughly six times the capacity that existed in 2019 (about
2,600 megawatts), according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid
operator.
This increase — coupled with greater wind and storage development — is what has allowed Texans
to beat the heat and keep their electricity bills down.
After all, several thermal-energy plants in the state went offline in recent weeks, as coal, natural gas
and nuclear facilities appeared to buckle under extreme temperatures and shrinking maintenance
windows. Additional solar and wind generation more than made up the difference. Renewables
overall have lately represented roughly 35 to 40 percent of power generation at peak, compared
with about 30 percent last year.
The result is not only that renewables have enabled Texas residents to keep the lights and air
conditioning on during this hellish heat. They probably also saved Texans “billions of dollars” last
week alone by keeping prices from spiking, says Doug Lewin, an Austin-based energy consultant and
author of the Texas Energy and Power Newsletter.
What’s responsible for this … ahem … windfall?
Federal tax incentives, including those in the Inflation Reduction Act, have certainly encouraged
additional renewable development nationwide. Technological advances have as well, with wind and
solar development costs growing increasingly competitive against fossil fuels even before taking
subsidies into account. Improvements in storage technology have also helped address renewables’
most-cited weakness: their intermittency. With better batteries, air conditioners can reliably keep
blasting even on cloudy, windless days.
But much of this is a Texas-specific story, too.
Though not exactly known for its bleeding-heart-liberal populace, Texas generates more electricity
from wind and solar than any other state. Of the 710 megawatts of new battery storage that went
online across the United States in the first three months of 2023, about 70 percent was in Texas
alone, according to data from S&P Global.
Perhaps this isn’t surprising, if you look at Texas’s landscape and demographics; it’s naturally quite
sunny and windy, with a growing population. These features have made it an attractive place to site
new and efficient renewable-energy projects.
The state has made some smart policy decisions, too. It got a jump-start on expanding transmission
lines, for instance, to help move power from windy but secluded areas to denser population centers.
The state’s electricity market was designed to make it easy for new energy producers to connect to
the Texas grid.
Perhaps most important, Texas (unlike, say, California) has a relatively permissive permitting
environment for building of all kinds: housing, energy infrastructure, you name it.
At least, the state has had a welcoming regulatory environment for all these things. More recently,
Texas politicians have been threatening to kill their golden goose.
In the legislative session that recently ended, state lawmakers introduced a raft of bills designed to
curb renewable-energy investment and prop up traditional thermal energy producers. One bill, for
example, would have put new permitting requirements in place just for wind and solar, and nothing
else. “You could still site an oil and gas well literally across the fence line from a day-care facility,”
explains Lewin, “but you’d have to go and ask permission to put a solar panel on somewhere.”
These bills seem to have been motivated by a combination of factors. For some, it’s just NIMBYism
(people not wanting their rustic views ruined by wind turbines, for example). Others want to help
the state’s beloved fossil-fuel industry. (Texas remains the top oil-and-gas producing state in the
nation, too.) And perhaps others are driven by culture-war concerns (renewables are indulgences
pushed by commie tree-huggers, etc.).
While the worst of these bills didn’t make it through, they are likely to get revived in the years ahead.
Renewables have proved a favorite scapegoat for any problems with Texas’s power system — even
when they’re actually the key to alleviating those problems. For which they never seem to get their
due.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/04/renewable-energy-texas-heat/