“As the demand for EV continues to surge, charging infrastructure expands and gas stations disappear, it won’t be long before drivers start suffering from gas anxiety, not range anxiety,”

Image Courtesy of Eos Energy Storage

Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in portable electronics and EVs since lithium is the lightest metal. But lithium has its downsides. It is combustible. It is flammable. It is marked by sourcing realities and it poses significant environmental threats if not properly managed. Thus researchers have been searching for and developing options and eco-friendly replacements for lithium. Enter zinc, an abundant metal that is promising for electrochemical applications, promising for batteries.

Zinc is a metallic element. It is the 24th most abundant element on Earth, the fourth most produced metal in the world. It is widely known for its common use in galvanizing iron and steel, a process involving coating to prevent corrosion. Lithium has a higher energy density than zinc, it can store more energy. But zinc’s lower energy density makes it a less reactive and thus a safer material. It’s been considered for years: Researchers at Exxon were analyzing zinc and patented zinc-bromine flow batteries in the 1970s.

Zinc batteries, specifically zinc-halide batteries, are promising, and right now… are commercially available from a company called Eos. Its batteries bear a cost premium, but they also last longer. The Eos Z3 zinc-powered aqueous liquid battery module is fully commercialized, U.S.-made and manufactured, is thus a viable alternative to lithium and lead acid batteries. And it’s a long-term energy storage technology, providing 3 – 12 hour discharges. The battery features an aqueous electrolyte, bipolar electrodes, and a polymer casing.

Eos was founded in 2009, focused on projections of huge demand for long duration energy storage (LDES). (The U.S. grid may need 225 – 460 GW of LDES by 2050.) Eos has grown from two employees in 2019. Its manufacturing is in Pennsylvania where it transformed an empty building and turned the region into a world class clean energy manufacturing hub. Eos now employs over 250 full-time workers in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania.

The Eos batteries are zinc-halide. Eos batteries are made of 90% domestic content. According to MIT Technology Review, they use a water-based electrolyte which makes them more stable. They have no need for safety measures such as “active temperature control.” They do have a higher risk of short-circuiting that has to be managed. They have longer lifetimes, 20 years instead of 10 – 15 for lithium.

Image Courtesy of Eos Energy Storage

EOS received a $303.5 million loan guarantee from the U.S. DOE Loan Programs Office (LPO) to support the company’s expansion, to enable it to boost its production up to 8 GWh per year by 2027. Per LPO conditional loan terms, Eos must “tick a few boxes” to receive the funding, including reaching technical, commercial, and financial milestones.

In December, the California Energy Commission awarded a $42 million grant for long duration energy storage at Camp Pendleton. The CEC grant was specifically for alternatives to lithium-ion batteries that can meet an 8-hour discharge requirement. Seven LDES projects were awarded a total of $170 million.

The Pendleton grant will allow International Electric Power to install 6 MW / 48 MWh of Eos Z3 Cube energy storage there, at “one of the country’s busiest Marine Corps installations.” Camp Pendleton is the Marine Corps’ largest West Coast expeditionary training center and supports over 70,000 military and civilian personnel and their families. The new storage project will be paired with existing installations of onsite solar and will be installed at the base’s Haybarn Energy Reliability Center.

Independent Electric Power plans to expand the Pendleton installation to a 50 MW system. This week, Eos announced a 400 MWh order from International Electric Power for the complete 50 MW project. This follows a recent order for 36 MW / 216 MWh of storage for City Utilities in Springfield, Illinois.

Image Courtesy of China Energy

In past issues of EcoNet, we’ve reported on floating photovoltaics, or floatovoltaics, the deployment of photovoltaic arrays of solar over water. It seems crazy to me… water is an electrician’s enemy. But prove me wrong: Floating arrays are now slated to be deployed in rough seas… like the North Sea. Tethered and piling-mounted solar arrays are planned to augment offshore wind, in cases using the transmission lines in place for wind to take solar power ashore.

An article in Clean Technica presents a top of mind question: “Ocean storms create enormous waves that would destroy floating solar farms, wouldn’t they?” The article continues with a response: “The answer is not necessarily. If correctly engineered and located in areas of the ocean that are typically protected from such storms, offshore solar can be done quite effectively.”

Let’s back up. Floatovoltaics have serious pros and cons: Let’s start with benefits: Water keeps the panels cool. In freshwater applications, floating arrays help reduce evaporation, expanding supplies that can be used for agriculture. Another upside, these arrays do not compete for land within urban areas, nor do they compete for land with agriculture. But, once again, they need to withstand extreme marine conditions. They have higher maintenance costs due to saltwater corrosion compounded by the constant stress of moving waves and persistent winds. They have potential impacts on marine life.

China once again comes to the fore. It has already installed a floating system on top of a flooded former coal mine. Now China is taking solar far out to sea. In November, a 1 GW offshore floating installation was commissioned. Developed by the Guohua Energy Investment Company, the solar “park” is 5 miles off the coast and the city of Dongying, in Shandong province. It will generate 1.78 billion kWh annually,. The system consists of 2,934 platforms, large-scale steel truss platforms affixed to pilings. Each platform is 196 feet by 115 feet.

SolarDuck is a Dutch/Norwegian company that was launched in 2019 as a spinoff off Damen Shipyards, a leading Netherlands shipbuilder, and that is in the floatovoltaics business. SolarDuck employs modular, triangular platforms for its solar panels, linked together to form giant hexagonal arrays that undulate like carpets on the waves. SolarDuck uses marine-grade aluminum to minimize corrosion.

Image Courtesy of SolarDuck

RWE, the German utility, has entered into an agreement with SolarDuck to explore developing floating solar parks worldwide, starting with a 0.5 MW installation in the North Seat Sea near Ostend, Belgium. The systems will include battery storage. SolarDuck is keen to showcase its systems in the rough North Sea conditions… and boasts that then it will be proven that the technology can be deployed, “practically anywhere in the world.”

A recent Wood Mackenzie report forecasts that the overall floating market could reach 77 GW by 2033. The current level is 1.7 GW. The report presents 12 suitable markets; nine of the top ten are in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 57 GW of the total. The three largest markets – India, China, and Indonesia – account for 31 GW of the potential. Europe’s three largest markets are Germany (2.2 GW), France (1.2), and the Netherlands (1). The U.S. level is expected to reach 0.7 GW by 2033.

Some perspective and good news! EV chargers are becoming more and more ubiquitous. And as with gas stations, there’s competition brewing. ChargePoint is a Level 2 charging network and deserves credit for its hundreds of thousands of chargers. It maintains the largest charging network in America. “Hyper” is how Electrify America describes its 350 kW chargers. Soon they’ll be at Costco. Tesla’s worldwide supercharger network now stands at 6,500 stations and 60,000 connectors! Tesla is gradually opening up its network to other EV brands. Meanwhile EVgo plans 10,000 stations in America by 2029.

Charge Point maintains one of the largest EV charging networks in the world, with more than 200,000 active, public charging ports. An additional 355,000 chargers are also available through the ChargePoint app. ChargePoint recently celebrated its 30,000th charging spot on its U.S. network. For comparison, there are 12,000 Starbucks in America. The 30,000th charging spot was opened in Chattanooga, Tennessee. ChargePoint boasts that it has charged more than 12.9 billion gas-free EV miles.

Electrify America is building a network of charging stations, coast to coast. It now has topped 1,000 stations. Electrify America boasts to be the nation’s “largest open hyper-fast charging network.” The network was built out in 47 states, plus DC and seven Canadian provinces, in less than six years. Every Electrify America charge is carbon free. Its network is backed with 100% renewable energy via renewable energy certificates. Its mission is to unlock equitable electrification for all through community investment, specifically in underrepresented communities.

Electrify’s latest news is that it has partnered with Costco stores in California, Colorado, and Florida. There, chargers will be available to all EV brands, and Costco will set the charging rate/price. The initial five Costco locations have 350 kW chargers. I was interested to learn that Electrify “guests” can use the charging stations without a membership. They simply use Amex, Visa, Mastercard, or Discover credit cards. Payments can also be made with the Electrify America mobile app, and through Apple Pay and Google Wallet.

As of July 2024, and worldwide, Tesla had 6,500 stations with 60,000 connectors. At these stations, you just drive up and plug in… the chargers recognize your car and the power flows. Nothing to do. At the end, just unplug. The transactions are all virtual. Within the United States there are 2,443 Tesla stations with 28,111 ports. In California there are 506 stations with 7,947 connectors.

Meanwhile, EVgo has announced that it will build 7,500 fast charging stations around the country in the next five years, tripling its footprint by 2029. Like Tesla, its business model is to own and operate its chargers. It plans to have some 10,000 stations by 2029. EVgo secured a $1.25 billion loan guarantee from the LPO to build the stations, putting up 1,594 of its charging stalls as collateral. EVgo also has a partnership with General Motors.

Image Courtesy of Wisconsin PSC

The 1.3 GW Vista Sands Solar Farm has now been approved by the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. The “farm” in Portage County will cover 8,500 acres and will generate 2.1 billion kWh annually. The project’s approval has been heralded as the biggest step in Wisconsin’s history in curbing carbon emissions, cutting 1.6 million metric tons of CO2 emissions each year. Fully 95% of the solar farm’s output will replace fossil fuel, carbon-heavy sources of power.

There was public opposition to the massive solar project. Its site was selected based on flat land, low population density, and access to transmission. In this case, the proposed site is adjacent to the Buena Vista State Wildlife Area, home to many greater prairie chickens which at a time were near extinct. (These are also called pinnated grouses and boomers!) Doral Renewables agreed to maintain a 500-foot buffer between its arrays and important habitat for the chickens. Doral also agreed to restoration of 7,900 acres of agricultural land near the wildlife area.

Vista Sands is by far the largest solar project in the state. So far there is 2.6 GW of solar statewide in Wisconsin. The $2 billion Vista Sands project also includes 300 MW of battery energy storage. It was developed by Doral Renewables from Philadelphia. Wisconsin is far from ideal for solar. But Doral CEO notes that solar has come down 85% in cost in the past years, panels are more efficient, and that these factors “…make solar farms viable even in places like Wisconsin.”

PG&E has landed a $15 billion federal loan guarantee to expand clean energy. It is the biggest commitment ever from the Loan Programs Office, no doubt working hard to disburse funds before the next administration takes office.

This will be the LPO’s largest commitment.The LPO has $250 billion in lending authority to finance the restructuring or renovation of power plants, power lines, and other energy infrastructure into new or modernized clean assets. So far, and in the past four years, the office has lent and/or has provided backstop support for $55 billion in funding to 32 different low-carbon, energy-related manufacturing, transportation, and infrastructure projects.

PG&E was forced into bankruptcy in 2019 incurring tens of billions of dollars of liability related to a deadly wildfire sparked by a failed power line. Since it emerged from bankruptcy in 2020, it has struggled to modernize and harden its power grid while shouldering a “challenging debt load.” With LPO support, PG&E plans to expand hydropower and battery storage, upgrade transmission capacity through reconductoring and grid enhancing technologies, and enable virtual power plants throughout its service territory.

The PG&E loan guarantee followed a $2.5 billion conditional loan guarantee to Wisconsin Electric to build up to 1,650 MW of utility-scale renewable power generation and energy storage projects. Recipients of the federal loans have to make sure that the financial benefits received will be passed on to customers or communities served by the utility.

In August of this year, the Montana State Supreme Court ruled in favor of young people. A group of 16 plaintiffs, aged 5 to 22, claimed that their health and prospects were being imperilled by the climate crisis. The Supreme Court held that Montana’s constitution guaranteed a right to a stable climate system. It invalidated a law barring regulators from considering the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when permitting new fossil fuel projects.

The court held that their health and futures were being jeopardized. The 6-1 decision was the first of its kind. It was the first lawsuit to go to trial by young environmental activists, challenging state and federal policies that they say are exacerbating climate change. In this case, the court agreed, confirming that the future of our children cannot be sacrificed for fossil fuel interests.

Thanks in part to Greta Thunberg, youth-led lawsuits nationally have taken aim at government policies that encourage or allow extraction of fossil fuels. Our youth scored a major victory in August in Montana. While some similar cases have failed, Hawaii has also agreed as part of a first-of-its-kind settlement with 13 young people to take action to decarbonize its transportation system by 2045.

A $1.2 billion project – an “electricity highway” – has been built to link two countries’ electricity supplies, and to share their intermittent renewables. In early December, power began to flow along this valuable “connector.”

Ethiopia is home to Africa’s largest hydroelectric facility, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Kenya boasts one of the largest geothermal plants in the world, the Olkaria Geothermal Project, a 792 MW facility in East Africa’s Great Rift Valley. This tectonically active area accounts for most of Kenya’s huge 10,000 MW geothermal potential. The Ethiopia-Kenya connector can transfer up to 2,000 MW of capacity in either direction. It is currently being used daily to move 200 MW power into Kenya.

The electricity highway links the two countries with 650 miles of transmission lines. This gives both Ethiopia and Kenya access to back-up supplies. In times of drought, Ethiopia will lean on Kenya; in times of abundant rainfall, Ethiopia can store energy in its dams. More recently, a link was opened between Kenya and Tasmania… same idea, same back-up/resilience value, the simple notion of power sharing.

There’s a big need as power demand is growing rapidly: Ethiopia’s electricity consumption per capita increased four-fold since the start of the century, and that’s a population of 130 million. Furthermore, in 2017 Ethiopia launched a campaign to electricity the entire country by 2025, “universal electrification.” Currently only one in four homes there have power. Kenya ‘s per capita thirst grew 75% in the same time frame.

The Asian Development Bank provided $300 million in funding for the Ethiopia-Kenya link. It was also funded by The World Bank through its 13-country initiative known as the Eastern African Power Pool. There are five power pools in Africa that power system planners envision linking for power exchanges. Other African connectors have been valuable to system operations in neighboring countries and regions. Zambia and Namibia have a link, as do two regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which have a 600-mile link.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, lithium-ion battery prices saw their biggest annual drop since 2017. Lithium-ion battery pack prices dropped down by 20% in 2023 to a record low of $115/kWh. Factors driving the decline include cell manufacturing overcapacity, economies of scale, low metal and component prices, adoption of lower-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, and a slowdown in electric vehicle sales growth.

Currently, there is significant overcapacity. There is some 3.1 TWh of fully commissioned battery-cell manufacturing capacity globally. That is more than 2.5 times annual demand for lithium-ion batteries in 2024, according to BNEF.

Battery cell prices dropped more this year than battery metal prices. That means that margins for battery manufacturers are being squeezed. This will likely force smaller manufacturers to close as they are most susceptible to lower cell prices, noted BNEF’s battery technology team.

For forty years, yes forty years, I have published EcoNet News and its predecessor weekly and monthly newsletters. This is the last issue.

Originally, EcoNet was the “IRT” when I worked for the New York Power Authority in 1984. Mat Hastings encouraged me to write it. Then I moved to Colorado, with Talmage Petty’s help I formed IRT Environment, worked at Rocky Mountain Institute, and we had subscribers and mailed out weekly newsletters. This continued through several jobs in Los Angeles, working for the City, and The Energy Coalition. For the past 17 years, EcoMotion has been EcoNet’s home.

For 40 years, I have written every word. I’ve taken seriously the responsibility of presenting the truth, and getting stories right. It has been a distinct pleasure to serve the news to all of you for all of these years. You, my interested readers, have encouraged my journalism, and have given me the liberty to focus on the positive, to report on only positive news, so encouraging in aggregate!

Now, I am focusing ever-more on EcoMotion and our consulting works. It’s exciting, cutting-edge stuff. Our team is advising a wide variety of clients on climate action, solar + storage, resilience, and e-mobility. We’re getting projects done. We relish the role of being an owner’s rep, an honest broker of all things sustainable. It’s a rewarding role; we can point to so many results. And new projects at EcoMotion are causing us to continue to learn in leaps and bounds, and to have more and more positive and important impacts.

Thanks to Sierra, Skye, Alizeh, and our coach Rhys Waters, Flanigan’s Eco-Logic Podcast is now an established and rated podcast. We have produced over 200 episodes with remarkable and inspirational guests. A growing listener base is eager to hear these stories. It’s an exciting form of media featuring what works. It’s EcoMotion’s new voice. Let’s continue to be in touch: Tune in to Flanigan’s Eco-Logic podcasts. Please suggest podcast guests for us to feature.

Thank you all for being my EcoNet readers. I am humbled by the thanks and appreciation that I have received over the years for writing the news. It has been an honor to have your trust that your time reading EcoNet was worth it.

Use the links below to check out our recent podcasts. And you can always go to Spotify and type in “Ted Flanigan” to find our library of podcasts.

Recently Released:

• This issue of EcoNet News, Volume 26, Issue #12

In EcoNet News, Volume 26, Issue #12, Ted wraps and reminisces on the past 40 years of publishing his monthly newsletter in this final issue. In his farewell Net Positive, he shares and encourages his optimism in regards to the future, and his clear perspective on society – as a collective intelligence and vision – having all the solutions needed to address current environmental issues. He thanks all of the EcoNet readers for their support through the years.

He goes on to highlight zinc-ion batteries, floatovoltaics braving through extreme weather conditions, EV charging networks deployed across the country, Wisconsin Public Service Commission approving the 1.3 GW Vista Sands Solar Farm, PG&E’s $15 billion federal loan guarantee to expand clean energy, the Montana Supreme Court ruling in favor of youth, Africa’s renewable electricity highway, and lithium battery record price drop.

• Charles Hua on Modernizing the Electric Utility Regulatory System

In this episode of Flanigan’s Eco-Logic, Ted speaks with Charles Hua, Founder and Executive Director of PowerLines, a new nonprofit organization aiming to modernize utility regulation to accelerate affordable, reliable, and clean energy for American consumers. He is also an energy analyst who has worked at Rewiring America, DOE’s Loan Programs Office, and now at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as a research affiliate. Charles wants people to pay attention to the enormous influence that public utility commissions (PUCs) have on the U.S. energy transition, and get involved with this long-neglected area, pushing for a utility regulatory system that can better serve American consumers, grow the economy, and support communities.

By engaging with the people, policies, and processes needed to deliver on this agenda, PowerLines approach is to pull together a big tent coalition of people interested in public utility commission (PUC) reform, including PUC staffers themselves, state legislators, clean energy providers and customers, academics and researchers, as well as grassroots groups. They’ll serve as a hub for modernizing utility regulation by bringing together these diverse stakeholders to share ideas, resources, and solutions on a path forward to effective utility regulation.

Charles and Ted dig into the problems with PUCs, discussing the unrestrained, unregulated authority over the U.S. electricity system. With the immense power and significance on the country’s clean energy future, Charles highlights opportunities for reform, including the revision of statutes, the effectiveness of integrated resource plans, decarbonization, equity, and creating more latitude or space for regulators to embrace a more forward-thinking, innovation-oriented mindset.

• Matthew Halteman on Ethical Food Choices

In this episode of Flanigan’s Eco-Logic, Ted speaks with Matt Halteman, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and fellow in the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, UK. He is the author of the just-released Hungry Beautiful Animals: The Joyful Case for Going Vegan, as well as Compassionate Eating as Care of Creation, and the co-editor of Philosophy Comes to Dinner: Arguments About the Ethics of Eating.

Matt has focused his career on ethical food choices, and how that all fits in with the path to sustainable living. He and Ted discuss his new book, and how he aims to shift how people view the process of going vegan, framing it as a joyful opportunity rather than an obligation. He views it as an incremental journey rather than an identity earned by perfection.

He points out that veganism is aspirational, and something to continually strive towards, drawing similarities between his theory of change, and EcoMotion’s philosophy of “The Power of the Increment.” He encourages his readers to take small steps that move them in the direction toward veganism, refusing to expect perfection or judgement when falling short based on access or circumstance, especially when there is continual striving and incremental growth in that direction.