Interesting stats on EVs and energy use in the US, developments in wind and tidal power, a plastic recycling microfactory, and an "unprecedented collapse" in EU fossil fuel generation.
According to PV Magazine, Australian energy company AGL has announced plans to transform its shuttered Loy Yang coal-fired power station site into a clean energy industrial hub.
The company is partnering with Melbourne-based Solar Recovery Corp. (SRC), a company that claims to have developed a recycling process that recovers up to 99% of raw materials from all types of end-of-life solar panels.
This story caught my eye because in recent months I've seen several other stories about decommissioned fossil fuel-powered plants being used for renewable energy purposes.
Here's a story about 11 coal plants in Illinois being converted into solar power hubs. (And another story on how it's now cheaper in the US to convert coal plants to renewables rather than to continue running them as coal plants.)
Here's an old coal plant in South Africa being repurposed into a renewable energy hub with a 150 MW solar PV system, a 70 MW wind energy plant and a 150 MW battery energy storage system.
And here's another Australian coal plant – this time in Queensland – being transformed into a green energy hub with the potential to generate 1.2 GW of clean energy.
Turning old fossil fuel-powered stations into clean energy hubs - this century's version of turning swords into ploughshares?
