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Revolutionizing Energy Storage: Li-CO2 Batteries With Carbon Capture

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Tuesday, April 16, 2024

A groundbreaking advancement in battery technology offers a dual benefit of efficient energy storage and CO2 capture, made possible by a new catalyst development system.New technology could lead to batteries that store energy and capture CO2, offering a significant advancement in environmental technology.Efficient and cheap batteries that can also capture harmful emissions could be right around the corner, thanks to a new system that speeds up the development of catalysts for lithium-CO2 (Li-CO2) batteries.The technology has been developed by the University of Surrey, Imperial College London, and Peking University to address the slow and inefficient methods currently used to produce catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries. In the study, researchers used their tool to test and screen materials like platinum, gold, silver, copper, iron, and nickel to easily investigate whether they would be suitable candidates for developing high-performing Li-CO2 batteries.Dr. Kai Yang, corresponding author of this work, project co-leader and Lecturer from the Advanced Technology Institute at the University of Surrey, explained:“We have created a cutting-edge lab-on-a-chip electrochemical testing platform that can do multiple things at the same time. It helps evaluate electrocatalysts, optimize operation conditions, and study CO2 conversion in high-performance lithium-CO2 batteries. This new method is more cost-effective, efficient, and controllable than traditional ways of making these materials.”Li-CO2 batteries are a promising new type of battery that work by combining lithium and carbon dioxide; they not only store energy effectively but also offer a way to capture CO2, potentially making a dual contribution to the fight against climate change.Dr. Yunlong Zhao, the lead corresponding author of this study and a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London, the National Physical Laboratory, and visiting academic from the University of Surrey, said:“It is crucial that we develop new negative emissions technologies. Our lab-on-a-chip platform will play a crucial role in advancing this goal. It will not only enhance our understanding of novel batteries, but it can also be applied to other systems like metal-air batteries, fuel cells, and photoelectrochemical cells.“This new tool will enable quick screening of catalysts, studying reaction mechanisms, and practical applications, from nanoscience to cutting-edge carbon removal technologies.”The study has been published by Energy and Environmental Science.Reference: “Developing highly reversible Li–CO2 batteries: from on-chip exploration to practical application” by Manman Wang, Kai Yang, Yuchen Ji, Xiaobin Liao, Guangpeng Zhang, Mateus G. Masteghin, Nianhua Peng, Filipe Richheimer, Huanxin Li, Jianan Wang, Xinhua Liu, Shichun Yang, Enrico Petrucco, Paul Shearing, Fernando A. Castro, S. Ravi P. Silva, Yan Zhao, Feng Pan and Yunlong Zhao, 21 July 2023, Energy & Environmental Science.DOI: 10.1039/D3EE00794D

New technology could lead to batteries that store energy and capture CO2, offering a significant advancement in environmental technology. Efficient and cheap batteries that can...

Advanced Battery Technology Breakthrough

A groundbreaking advancement in battery technology offers a dual benefit of efficient energy storage and CO2 capture, made possible by a new catalyst development system.

New technology could lead to batteries that store energy and capture CO2, offering a significant advancement in environmental technology.

Efficient and cheap batteries that can also capture harmful emissions could be right around the corner, thanks to a new system that speeds up the development of catalysts for lithium-CO2 (Li-CO2) batteries.

The technology has been developed by the University of Surrey, Imperial College London, and Peking University to address the slow and inefficient methods currently used to produce catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries.

In the study, researchers used their tool to test and screen materials like platinum, gold, silver, copper, iron, and nickel to easily investigate whether they would be suitable candidates for developing high-performing Li-CO2 batteries.

Dr. Kai Yang, corresponding author of this work, project co-leader and Lecturer from the Advanced Technology Institute at the University of Surrey, explained:

“We have created a cutting-edge lab-on-a-chip electrochemical testing platform that can do multiple things at the same time. It helps evaluate electrocatalysts, optimize operation conditions, and study CO2 conversion in high-performance lithium-CO2 batteries. This new method is more cost-effective, efficient, and controllable than traditional ways of making these materials.”

Li-CO2 batteries are a promising new type of battery that work by combining lithium and carbon dioxide; they not only store energy effectively but also offer a way to capture CO2, potentially making a dual contribution to the fight against climate change.

Dr. Yunlong Zhao, the lead corresponding author of this study and a Senior Lecturer at Imperial College London, the National Physical Laboratory, and visiting academic from the University of Surrey, said:

“It is crucial that we develop new negative emissions technologies. Our lab-on-a-chip platform will play a crucial role in advancing this goal. It will not only enhance our understanding of novel batteries, but it can also be applied to other systems like metal-air batteries, fuel cells, and photoelectrochemical cells.

“This new tool will enable quick screening of catalysts, studying reaction mechanisms, and practical applications, from nanoscience to cutting-edge carbon removal technologies.”

The study has been published by Energy and Environmental Science.

Reference: “Developing highly reversible Li–CO2 batteries: from on-chip exploration to practical application” by Manman Wang, Kai Yang, Yuchen Ji, Xiaobin Liao, Guangpeng Zhang, Mateus G. Masteghin, Nianhua Peng, Filipe Richheimer, Huanxin Li, Jianan Wang, Xinhua Liu, Shichun Yang, Enrico Petrucco, Paul Shearing, Fernando A. Castro, S. Ravi P. Silva, Yan Zhao, Feng Pan and Yunlong Zhao, 21 July 2023, Energy & Environmental Science.
DOI: 10.1039/D3EE00794D

Read the full story here.
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8 Georgia Candidates Are Seeking 2 Seats on a Commission That Regulates Utilities

Georgia voters will choose from eight candidates as they fill two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia voters will choose from eight candidates as they fill two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission, the body elected statewide that regulates how much Georgia Power Co. can charge customers for electricity. Qualifying for candidates closed Thursday. Georgia usually doesn't have statewide elections in odd-numbered years, but these were pushed back to Nov. 4 from 2022 after elections were delayed by a lawsuit that unsuccessfully challenged the statewide voting scheme as discriminatory to Black people. No Georgia Public Service Commission elections have been held since 2022 because of the lawsuit.Voters statewide elect commission members, but they must live in one of five districts. Up for election this year is District 2, which stretches from Atlanta’s eastern suburbs through Athens, Augusta and Savannah, and District 3, which includes the core metro Atlanta counties of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton. All five commissioners are currently Republicans.District 2 incumbent Tim Echols will be challenged in a June 17 primary by fellow Republican Lee Muns, who ran unsuccessfully for Columbia County Commission in 2018. Democrat Alicia Johnson of Augusta faces no opposition in the primary and will challenge the Republican nominee in November. In District 3, incumbent Fitz Johnson is unchallenged on the Republican side, while four Democrats seek their party's nomination. Democrats include Daniel Blackman, who lost a 2020 race for the commission and was later appointed as southern region administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by President Joe Biden. Also running is Keisha Sean Waites, a former state House member and former Atlanta City Council member who most recently lost a bid to become Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts. Candidate Peter Hubbard has worked for the Georgia Center for Clean Energy Solutions. The fourth Democrat, Robert Jones, says he has worked on energy for both the government and private companies.If no Democrat wins a majority in the June 17 primary, a runoff will be held July 15.Incumbents Echols and Johnson were supposed to run in 2022, but after the lawsuit ended, state lawmakers decided they would stand for election this year. That same law rearranged the terms of all five commission members, giving them each more than a regular six-year term.Johnson was appointed to the commission in 2021 by Gov. Brian Kemp and has never faced voters. He was supposed to run for the last two years of his predecessor’s term in 2022, before running again in 2024. The winner of the District 3 race will run again for a six-year term in 2026.Echols would serve for five years until 2030 if he wins this year, facing voters only twice in 14 years, before resuming regular six-year terms.The other three commissions will each get an extra two years on their current term. Tricia Pridemore, who was supposed to face voters in 2024, will instead run in 2026. Commissioners Jason Shaw and Bubba McDonald, scheduled for reelection in 2026, would instead serve until 2028. Their positions would then revert to six-year terms.May 19 is the last day to register to vote for the June 17 primary. Early in-person voting will begin May 27.Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Feb. 2025

Energy
Government

CERN scientists release blueprint for the Future Circular Collider

Top minds at the world’s largest atom smasher have released a blueprint for a much bigger successor that could vastly improve research into the remaining enigmas of physics. The plans for the Future Circular Collider — a nearly 91-kilometer (56.5-mile) loop along the French-Swiss border and below Lake Geneva — published late Monday put the finishing details on a project roughly a decade in the making at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The FCC would carry out high-precision experiments in the mid-2040s to study “known physics” in greater detail, then enter a second phase — planned for 2070 — that would conduct high-energy collisions of protons and heavy ions that would “open the door to the unknown,” said Giorgio Chiarelli, a research director at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics. “History of physics tells that when there is more data, the human ingenuity is able to extract more information than originally expected,” Chiarelli, who was not involved in the plans, said in an e-mail. For roughly a decade, top minds at CERN have been making plans for a successor to the Large Hadron Collider, a network of magnets that accelerate particles through a 27-kilometer (17-mile) underground tunnel and slam them together at velocities approaching the speed of light. The blueprint lays out the proposed path, environmental impact, scientific ambitions and project cost. Independent experts will take a look before CERN’s two dozen member countries — all European except for Israel — decide in 2028 whether to go forward, starting in the mid-2040s at a cost of some 14 billion Swiss francs (about $16 billion). CERN officials tout the promise of scientific discoveries that could drive innovation in fields like cryogenics, superconducting magnets and vacuum technologies that could benefit humankind. Outside experts point to the promise of learning more about the Higgs boson, the elusive particle that has been controversially dubbed “the God particle,” which helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang. Work at the Large Hadron Collider confirmed in 2013 the existence of the Higgs boson, the central piece in a puzzle known as the standard model that helps explains some fundamental forces in the universe. CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti said the future collider “could become the most extraordinary instrument ever built by humanity to study the constituents and the laws of nature at the most fundamental levels in two ways,” by improving study of the Higgs boson and paving the way to “explore the energy frontier,” and by looking for new physics that explain the structure and evolution of the universe. One unknown is whether the Trump administration, which has been cutting foreign aid and spending in academia and research, will continue to support CERN a year after the Biden administration pledged U.S. support for the study and collaboration on the FCC’s construction and “physics exploitation” if it’s approved. The United States is home to 2,000 users of CERN, making them the single largest national contingent among the 17,000 people working there, including outside experts abroad and staff on site, Gianotti said. While an observer state and not a member, the U.S. doesn’t pay into the CERN regular budget but has contributed to specific projects. Most of the CERN regular budget comes from Europe. Costas Fountas, the CERN Council president, said he had spoken with some U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy staff who relayed the message that so far “they’re ‘under the radar of the cuts of the Trump administration’. That’s their words.” CERN scientists, engineers and partners behind the plans considered at least 100 scenarios for the new collider before coming up with the proposed 91-kilometer circumference at an average depth of 200 meters (656 feet). The tunnel would be about 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter, CERN said. —Jamey Keaten, Associated Press

Top minds at the world’s largest atom smasher have released a blueprint for a much bigger successor that could vastly improve research into the remaining enigmas of physics. The plans for the Future Circular Collider — a nearly 91-kilometer (56.5-mile) loop along the French-Swiss border and below Lake Geneva — published late Monday put the finishing details on a project roughly a decade in the making at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. The FCC would carry out high-precision experiments in the mid-2040s to study “known physics” in greater detail, then enter a second phase — planned for 2070 — that would conduct high-energy collisions of protons and heavy ions that would “open the door to the unknown,” said Giorgio Chiarelli, a research director at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics. “History of physics tells that when there is more data, the human ingenuity is able to extract more information than originally expected,” Chiarelli, who was not involved in the plans, said in an e-mail. For roughly a decade, top minds at CERN have been making plans for a successor to the Large Hadron Collider, a network of magnets that accelerate particles through a 27-kilometer (17-mile) underground tunnel and slam them together at velocities approaching the speed of light. The blueprint lays out the proposed path, environmental impact, scientific ambitions and project cost. Independent experts will take a look before CERN’s two dozen member countries — all European except for Israel — decide in 2028 whether to go forward, starting in the mid-2040s at a cost of some 14 billion Swiss francs (about $16 billion). CERN officials tout the promise of scientific discoveries that could drive innovation in fields like cryogenics, superconducting magnets and vacuum technologies that could benefit humankind. Outside experts point to the promise of learning more about the Higgs boson, the elusive particle that has been controversially dubbed “the God particle,” which helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang. Work at the Large Hadron Collider confirmed in 2013 the existence of the Higgs boson, the central piece in a puzzle known as the standard model that helps explains some fundamental forces in the universe. CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti said the future collider “could become the most extraordinary instrument ever built by humanity to study the constituents and the laws of nature at the most fundamental levels in two ways,” by improving study of the Higgs boson and paving the way to “explore the energy frontier,” and by looking for new physics that explain the structure and evolution of the universe. One unknown is whether the Trump administration, which has been cutting foreign aid and spending in academia and research, will continue to support CERN a year after the Biden administration pledged U.S. support for the study and collaboration on the FCC’s construction and “physics exploitation” if it’s approved. The United States is home to 2,000 users of CERN, making them the single largest national contingent among the 17,000 people working there, including outside experts abroad and staff on site, Gianotti said. While an observer state and not a member, the U.S. doesn’t pay into the CERN regular budget but has contributed to specific projects. Most of the CERN regular budget comes from Europe. Costas Fountas, the CERN Council president, said he had spoken with some U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Energy staff who relayed the message that so far “they’re ‘under the radar of the cuts of the Trump administration’. That’s their words.” CERN scientists, engineers and partners behind the plans considered at least 100 scenarios for the new collider before coming up with the proposed 91-kilometer circumference at an average depth of 200 meters (656 feet). The tunnel would be about 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter, CERN said. —Jamey Keaten, Associated Press

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Trump's Department of Energy targets California and other blue states for budget cuts, according to internal documents

A major national effort to develop clean hydrogen energy is facing funding cuts — but only in Democratic states.

The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle environmental protections and roll back nationwide progress toward clean energy disproportionately target California and other blue states, internal documents show.As early as this week, the Department of Energy may pull funding from hundreds of projects — many of which were bolstered by President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law and are geared toward climate-friendly initiatives such as solar power, heat pumps, battery storage and renewable fuels, according to a leaked list reviewed by The Times. The cuts could include as many as 262 projects in the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, of which roughly 80% are based in states that did not go for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Also on the chopping block are nearly two dozen projects in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, including a major national effort known as the Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) Program, which aims to accelerate the development of hydrogen projects that can replace planet-warming fossil fuels. Those cuts, too, are not applied equally: Of the seven states and regions selected to participate in the $7-billion federal hydrogen project, the four set to be gutted are in primarily Democratic areas. The hydrogen incubators on the cut list include a hub in California; a Mid-Atlantic hub in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey; a Pacific Northwest hub in Oregon, Washington and Montana; and a Midwest hub in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Meanwhile, the hydrogen hubs in red states and regions are safe, the list shows, including a large hub in Texas; a “heartland” hub in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota; and an Appalachia hub in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Officials with the Department of Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. California was among 33 applicants for the competitive initiative, which launched in 2021 and ultimately selected seven “hubs” to develop and test various sources of hydrogen. The California hub — known as ARCHES, or the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems — was awarded $1.2 billion in federal funds, with plans to bring in an additional $11.2 billion from private investors. But it now faces cuts from Trump’s DOE despite the fact that the hub was the highest-scoring applicant among those considered for the federal award, according to sources familiar with the matter. Democratic staff members with the House Science Committee who agreed to speak on background said the findings indicate that the cuts are partisan and ideological in nature — a trend in keeping with other actions from the Trump administration, which has repeatedly targeted environmental programs in California and other Democratic areas in recent weeks. Indeed, cost alone does not appear to be a factor, given that Texas’s hydrogen hub received the same amount of federal funding — $1.2 billion — as California’s, yet the former was not on the cut list. The two states’ projects were the costliest of the hubs, which range from roughly $750 million to $1.2 billion.The total cuts from the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy amount to more than $905 million, with about $735 million coming from blue states and $169 million from red states, according to a Times analysis. Insiders said the proportions do not reflect overall clean energy investments by red and blue states, with Republican states such as Texas — a clean energy juggernaut — facing far fewer cuts from that office. According to documents reviewed by The Times, only eight Texas projects are on the chopping block compared with 53 in California. House Science Committee staffers cautioned that the leaked lists represent a snapshot in time and that the administration could change its plans before making any official announcements. Already, they said, some Republican representatives and private industry leaders have been successful in stopping certain projects from being canceled. So far, none of their Democratic counterparts have been able to do the same, they said.The cuts could have considerable implications for the nation’s energy future. The seven hydrogen hubs were collectively expected to produce 3 million metric tons of hydrogen each year — reducing 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, or roughly the amount of 5.5 million gas-powered cars. Each of the seven hubs was experimenting with different sources of hydrogen, with California focused on producing hydrogen exclusively from renewable energy and biomass while other hubs worked with natural gas, nuclear power and renewable sources such as wind and solar.Officials with ARCHES said it could be weeks before they have more clarity on the situation. “ARCHES remains committed to working with our partners to establish a secure, reliable and competitive hydrogen ecosystem, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs and delivering substantial health and economic benefits for Californians,” Chief Executive Angelina Galiteva said in a statement. “We have nothing more to share at this time.”Hydrogen is also not without controversy. Critics have expressed concern that producing hydrogen is water- and energy-intensive, potentially dangerous to transport and expensive. Supporters say it fills in a key gap that electrification alone cannot cover, particularly for heavy industries such as manufacturing and transportation.ARCHES planned to fund at least 37 smaller projects in and around California, including efforts to decarbonize the Port of Los Angeles, as well as plans to install more than 60 hydrogen fueling stations around the state.The status of those projects remains unclear.The president — who received record donations from fossil fuel companies during his campaign — has taken aim at what he describes as “environmental extremists, lunatics, radicals and thugs” in recent weeks, vowing instead to ramp up the production of coal, increase oil drilling and block California’s efforts to transition to electric vehicles, among other actions.

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‘Playing gods with the cradle of life’: French Polynesia’s president issues warning over deep-sea mining

Exclusive: Moetai Brotherson fears environmental risks of controversial practice and says independence from France must not be ‘rushed’Read more Pacific leaders: in their wordsFrench Polynesia’s president has issued a stark warning over the risks of deep-sea mining, saying it will be allowed in his territory “over my dead body” as he argues the potential for environmental damage outweighs any benefits.Moetai Brotherson’s comments to the Guardian come as countries in the Pacific and elsewhere grapple with whether to extract minerals from the sea floor. Deep-sea mining has not yet begun, but some companies and countries are exploring the practice, which could start in the coming years. Continue reading...

French Polynesia’s president has issued a stark warning over the risks of deep-sea mining, saying it will be allowed in his territory “over my dead body” as he argues the potential for environmental damage outweighs any benefits.Moetai Brotherson’s comments to the Guardian come as countries in the Pacific and elsewhere grapple with whether to extract minerals from the sea floor. Deep-sea mining has not yet begun, but some companies and countries are exploring the practice, which could start in the coming years.“We’re playing gods with the cradle of life – and that’s way too dangerous,” Brotherson said from his office in Papeete.Asked if he would consider deep-sea mining in the future, Brotherson said: “Over my dead body.”French Polynesia is located in the South Pacific Ocean about halfway between Australia and South America. It consists of more than 100 islands, including Tahiti and Bora Bora. Although technically still under French sovereignty, the islands are largely autonomous, with their own government, currency and local laws.French Polynesian president Moetai Brotherson says deep-sea mining is a ‘lure’ for Pacific Island countries. Photograph: Atea Lee Chip Sao/The GuardianUnder French Polynesia’s statute of autonomy, France has ultimate jurisdiction over what it deems “strategic materials”, which includes the minerals found in the seabed. Brotherson’s administration is attempting to get the statute modified.Brotherson was elected in 2023 as a member of the pro-independence Tāvini Huiraʻatira party. He said deep-sea mining was a “lure” for Pacific Island countries, which might see the practice as a “shortcut to a better social and economic situation”.Deep-sea mining involves extracting minerals and metals such as nickel, cobalt and copper from the deep seabed, at depths greater than 200m. These minerals are used in a range of products including batteries, electronics and renewable energies.Proponents say mining the deep sea will support the green energy transition and aid the development of Pacific Island economies. Others argue the practice could have a devastating impact on the seabed, and the long-term consequences for the environment and ocean ecosystems are uncertain.Deep-sea mining has divided Pacific island governments. While some, including French Polynesia and Micronesia, are against the idea, others such as the Cook Islands and Nauru have been actively pursuing partnerships with mining companies as a way to diversify their economies.In February, the Cook Islands signed a strategic partnership deal with China which included cooperation to explore deep-sea mining in the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In March, Kiribati announced it would also be exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China. Other large states including Russia and South Korea hold exploration contracts, and companies are pushing to begin mining the deep sea.French Polynesia’s presidential palace in the capital, Papeete. Photograph: Atea Lee Chip Sao/The GuardianWhile Brotherson supports the right of the Cook Islands to exploit its deep-sea resources, he doesn’t agree with it.“From our perspective, it’s very disturbing because it sets a precedent and also ignores the fact that undersea pollution doesn’t have boundaries,” said Brotherson, who noted that pollution from mining in the Cook Islands could end up in French Polynesian waters.Dr Lorenz Gonschor, an expert on Pacific regionalism and governance at the University of the South Pacific, said exploration of deep ocean resources was likely to happen in the future.He said as “large ocean nations” the emerging practice gave Pacific islands “tremendous importance in the sense that they will now potentially have huge economic resources”.The French president, Emmanuel Macron, currently supports a ban on deep-sea mining but Brotherson worries that could change with the election of a new president in France.France has complicated relationships with its Pacific Island colonies, which also includes New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. New Caledonia saw violent unrest and protests last year sparked by voting reforms proposed by the French parliament.Brotherson has stated publicly that he would consider holding a referendum on independence from France in the next 10 to 15 years.France, however, has shown no indication of moving towards decolonisation for French Polynesia, rejecting calls for independence at the 2023 UN special committee on decolonisation and continuing to maintain an active military presence in the islands. Macron, during his last visit to French Polynesia in 2021, emphasised strengthening the existing relationship.Gonschor acknowledged that independence for French Polynesia would be a “big challenge”, particularly because of its history of economic subsidies and “superficial development” from France. Still, he believed there was a chance of seeing independence in our lifetimes.“From a geopolitical standpoint, it’s unavoidable. In the long run, France won’t be able to afford to keep these overseas colonies.”Brotherson is willing to take a slow path to secure independence “the right way” and start by building French Polynesia’s “economic self-resilience”, which includes a sustainable tourism and energy transition, as well as a move to boost the local agricultural sector and prioritise the digital economy.“I’d rather not see independence in my time if it’s being rushed and done wrong … It would be great if I could see it, but it’s not about me,” Brotherson said. “It’s about the people in the country.”

Energy
Government
Pollution

Brisbane city council blocks plans for fridge-sized community batteries due to loss of green space

Local councillor says federal Labor should not be ‘plonking giant batteries in public parks’ though no other council has refused development applications in the stateElection 2025 live updates: Australia federal election campaignInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionGina: the billionaire who wants to make Australia greatSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet ourbreaking news email,free app ordaily news podcastThe Brisbane city council has stymied a federal government renewable energy scheme by denying three development applications for community batteries the size of a fridge due to loss of green space.The PowerShaper XL batteries, which range in capacity between 90kW and 180kWh, are about the size of an NBN or traffic signal box – or a fridge. Continue reading...

The Brisbane city council has stymied a federal government renewable energy scheme by denying three development applications for community batteries the size of a fridge due to loss of green space.The PowerShaper XL batteries, which range in capacity between 90kW and 180kWh, are about the size of an NBN or traffic signal box – or a fridge.But development applications for three sites, at an old Scouts Hall in Nundah, a substation in Newmarket and the Penley Street end of Woodbine Street in the Gap, were denied by Brisbane city council. All up, the trio would cost about $2.24m.The batteries were funded through the commonwealth’s $200m communities batteries for household solar program.Energy Queensland won federal grant funding for batteries in 12 communities, including other Brisbane suburbs. It has approval to install them in Coorparoo and Moorooka.The civic cabinet chair for environment, parks and sustainability, Tracy Davis, a former LNP MP, said the council does not support “plonking giant batteries in public parks”.“These bogus claims about community batteries are just a desperate attempt for relevance from a clueless Labor candidate,” she said.“With the election now called, the federal Labor government has been caught out failing to deliver on its own commitment about community batteries and is now trying to blame local councils.”Brisbane’s lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, was one of the loudest backers of a plan to convert part of one the city’s largest parks into a stadium for the Olympics, despite claims it would significantly reduce one of the city’s biggest green spaces.The federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, said three rejected batteries would help “nearly 1,000 households” power their homes with locally created green energy.In a letter to Schrinner, the federal government asked the city council to either reconsider their opposition or identify alternative sites within the same suburbs that they would support.“The batteries will store solar energy for later use and sharing, support further solar installations in these suburbs, as well [as] contribute to lowering emissions, put downward pressure on household electricity costs and provide network benefits,” Bowen said in a letter to the mayor.Sources have told the Guardian that no other local government body has refused a development application in Queensland and in other states councils had offered alternatives when objecting.Rebecca Hack, the Labor candidate for Ryan – which includes the outer north-west suburb the Gap – said the council’s decision flew in the face of claimed green credentials.“The LNP lord mayor is constantly trying to tell ratepayers how much he cares for the environment,” she said. “Well, he can start right now by putting aside his personal politics and getting these batteries approved, so they can be built as soon as possible.”skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionEnergy Queensland was contacted for comment.The Queensland Conservation Council’s director, David Copeman, said he would be concerned if the council had adopted a “not in my back yard approach”.“If there was a particular tree which was seen as a character tree or protected under council rules, then obviously you’d relocate, and that’s what we’d expect from appropriate planning, but that should be something that the council and Energy Queensland can work out,” he said.He said planning rules should take into account not just the environmental costs of a project, but its benefits – particularly if the counterfactual means using more coal for longer.Copeman said he is “concerned that the council is delaying the rollout of this important infrastructure”.“Brisbane city council, which has made a lot out of its commitment to net zero … for it to backslide on rolling out renewable energy infrastructure would be very concerning.”Davis said the federal government had known “for months” that the council did not support the sites.“Instead of petty political games, Labor must ensure Brisbane finally gets its fair share of federal road and transport funding and stop funnelling billions of dollars in additional investment into Sydney and Melbourne,” she said.The PowerShaper XL is about 700 x 900 x 2,000mm and weighs 600kg.

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