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Search results for: “climate model”

  • Chlor-alkali process: the economics?

    Chlor-alkali process: the economics?

    This data-file captures chlor-alkali process economics, to produce 80MTpa of chlorine and 90MTpa of caustic soda. Our base case requires $600 per ecu for a 10% IRR and a growth project costing $600/Tpa. Electricity is 45% of cash cost. CO2 intensity is 0.5 tons/ton. Interestingly, chlor-alkali plants can demand shift.

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  • Offshore oil: marginal cost?

    Offshore oil: marginal cost?

    What is the marginal cost of offshore oil and gas? This data-file captures a small project, off Africa, with $15/boe development cost, $15/boe opex, 70% fiscal take. Break-even is at $35-45/bbl. But a $90/bbl forward curve may be needed for definitive go-ahead.

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  • Pumped hydro: the economics?

    Pumped hydro: the economics?

    This data-file assesses pumped hydro costs, to back up wind and solar. A typical project has 0.5GW of capacity, 12-hours storage duration, 80% efficiency, and capex costs of $2,250/kW. Thus it requires a 25c/kWh storage spread, in order to generate a 10% IRR.

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  • Power transmission: inter-connectors smooth solar volatility?

    Power transmission: inter-connectors smooth solar volatility?

    Can large-scale power transmission smooth renewables’ volatility? To answer this question, this horrible 18MB data-file aggregates 20-years of hour-by-hour solar insolation arriving at four cities in the US. The volatility in year-by-year can be halved by a single inter-connector.

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  • Power grids: global investment?

    Power grids: global investment?

    Global investment into power networks averaged $280bn per annum in 2015-20, of which two-thirds was for distribution and one-third was for transmission. Amazingly, these numbers step up to $600bn in 2030, >$1trn in the 2040s and can be as large as all primary energy investment.

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  • CO2 removals: Eden Reforestation, Madagascar?

    CO2 removals: Eden Reforestation, Madagascar?

    Eden Reforestation is a non-profit aiming to counteract deforestation and extreme poverty. It has planted c1bn trees and provides a fair income to c15,000 people. We appraised its activities in Madagascar on our CO2 removals framework, and made a $1,500 donation.

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  • Crop production: what CO2 intensity?

    Crop production: what CO2 intensity?

    The CO2 intensity of producing corn averages 0.23 tons/ton, or 75kg/boe. 50% is from N2O emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the breakdown of nitrogen fertilizer. Producing 1 kWh of food energy requires 9 kWh of fossil energy.

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  • Heap leaching: energy economics?

    Heap leaching: energy economics?

    This data-file captures the energy economics of leaching in the mining industry, especially the costs of heap leaching, for the extraction of copper, nickel, gold, silver, other precious metals, uranium, and Rare Earths. The data-file allows you to stress test costs in $/ton of ore, $/ton of metal, capex, opex, chemicals costs, energy intensity and…

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  • Silver and gold: the economics?

    Silver and gold: the economics?

    This data-file captures the marginal cost of silver and gold production, at an integrated mining-refining operation. In our base case, a 10% IRR requires a silver price of $17/Oz and a gold price of $1,750/Oz, while the energy and CO2 intensities are an eye watering 100-150 tons/ton and 9,000 tons/ton, respectively. Numbers vary widely on…

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  • Global gas supply-demand in energy transition?

    Global gas supply-demand in energy transition?

    Global gas supply-demand is predicted to rise from 400bcfd in 2023 to 600bcfd by 2050, in our outlook, while achieving net zero would require ramping gas even further to 800bcfd, as a complement to wind, solar, nuclear and other low-carbon energy. This data-file quantifies global gas demand and supply by country.

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