Here at CleanTechnica, we have written previously about Camp Pendleton several times, and of particular note was the large solar power installation. Now comes another big story, although it’s about energy storage, not photovoltaics. Typically in the US, energy storage projects that use batteries provide backup and pulses of electricity for about four hours. The new Camp Pendleton energy storage project is longer duration. That’s good news because obviously four hours of battery electricity, although helpful and potentially cleaner than having to use electricity from a natural gas peaker plant, is still only four hours. Energy storage will need to expand in duration to have more applications. The first part of the Camp Pendleton energy storage project will be installing batteries with a 6 MW/48 MWh capacity, and that amount will be added to later. California Energy Commission staff answered some questions about the project for CleanTechnica . The release says the project will provide electricity to the statewide grid and backup power to the base for up to 14 days during power outages. Wouldn’t that be 6 MW for 48 MWh, not 14 days? Where does the 14 days come into the picture? Although the system would be rated for an 8-hour discharge period, it could be discharged for a longer period. An 8-hour discharge is expected for “normal” operation when the system is providing power to the grid, while the 14-day requirement is the Department of Defense requirement under which the installation must have backup power for critical facilities during outages. This grant provides that capability for critical facilities at Camp Pendleton, and when fully built out to 400 MWh will provide that for the entire installation. Zinc hybrid cathode aqueous battery technology will be used. Why use that kind instead of lithium-ion or lithium iron phosphate? This project is funded through California’s Long Duration Energy Storage program, for which the explicit statutory objective is to advance non-lithium-ion long-duration energy storage technologies. Zinc aqueous battery technology is eligible under this program. While lithium-ion batteries are – and will continue to be – an integral component of California’s progress toward its energy storage and overall clean energy commitments, non-lithium-ion batteries have several benefits relative to lithium-ion batteries. In general, these can include: the absence of thermal runaway risks, increasing public safety and allowing batteries to be installed closer to inhabited areas lower levels of system degradation over time and longer lifetimes manufacturability with more abundant materials more economical scaling at higher system capacities and longer discharge durations The deployment of the zinc-aqueous battery system at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton will seek to enhance the Base’s energy resilience in a safe and cost-effective manner. When will the project be expanded to 50 MW/400 MWh? Construction on the 50 MW/400 MWh will begin once the initial 6 MW/48 MWh is complete. We currently expect the 50 MW/400 MWh to be completed by June 2027. Does the base have its own solar power and, if so, how much? The base does have its own solar installations. However, these solar installations are intended to support the base’s existing loads rather than to charge this battery system. Under normal conditions, the battery will be charged from the electric grid rather than on-site solar. During outages, solar may be used to charge the batteries in order to support critical loads for longer durations, but the amount of solar that would be dedicated to this use is left to the discretion of the base. What is the cost of installing the first 6 MW/48 MWh? In the current market, the cost of non-lithium-ion long duration energy storage systems can be reasonably estimated at $1M for every 1 MWh, when considering the overall system costs, including site preparation, construction, all auxiliary materials and equipment, and labor costs, among others. However, each field installation is different, and the MCB Camp Pendleton project site will likely require additional costs; we expect the final cost of the initial 6 MW/48 MWh system to be approximately $70M. The CEC will provide $42M, while the remainder will be borne by the recipient, International Electric Power. About how many jobs will be created during the installation? We expect this project to employ approximately 150 people during construction, and 5 people during operation. CleanTechnica's Comment Policy LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit
CHENNAI: Amidst severe criticism from various political parties over his whiplash agitation, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Saturday said his action should be likened to that of a "brother's primal anger" over the sexual assault of his sister. His action should not be viewed as political but ought to be seen as an elder brother's outburst over the "system failure" in the state, Annamalai said a day after he staged a unique whiplash agitation of flogging himself to condemn the ruling DMK and the state police over the handling of the case of sexual assault on a Chennai college student. "Don't see me as a political party leader but see me as the affected girl's elder brother. It's (inflicting whiplash on himself) like primal anger of a brother because the system has failed," Annamalai told reporters at the airport here when sought for his reaction. "Has the police been impartial in handling the case? No. There was no chance for the FIR to get leaked. How did it get leaked?" the BJP president asked. He lashed himself several times with a whip in front of his house in Coimbatore demanding justice for the Anna University student who was sexually assaulted on Christmas Eve. The police had arrested the suspect in the case. Several political parties including the ruling DMK had mocked Annamalai for the agitation which was also to dislodge the DMK government . He had vowed not to wear sandals till the DMK was dethroned and had even begun a 48-day ritual for a pilgrimage to Murugan temples. Also, he justified his stance on the issue. He said the "system has deteriorated" in the state. Former Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan and BJP members were arrested when they staged a protest demanding justice for the affected girl student. "So I was constrained to take up this agitation. I have taken up the issue with a religious zeal," Annamalai said. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword .The US State and Treasury departments said they hit Georgian Dream party founder and honorary chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili with penalties “for undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation”, according to a statement. The designation of Mr Ivanishvili is the latest in a series of sanctions the US has placed on Georgian politicians and others this year. Those sanctions include freezes on assets and properties those targeted may have in US jurisdictions or that might enter US jurisdictions as well as travel bans on the targets and members of their families. “We strongly condemn Georgian Dream’s actions under Ivanishvili’s leadership, including its ongoing and violent repression of Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures,” the State Department said in a statement. “The United States is committed to promoting accountability for those undermining democracy and human rights in Georgia.” Mr Ivanishvili is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and served briefly as Georgia’s prime minister. In 2012, he founded Georgian Dream, Georgia’s longtime ruling party. Critics have accused Georgian Dream of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted towards Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBT+ rights, prompting the European Union to suspend Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely. In October, Georgian Dream won another term in a divisive parliamentary election that has led to more mass protests. Last month, the country’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced a four-year suspension of talks on Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, fuelling further public outrage.
Young Australians are ‘all in’ on generative AI and are embracing tools like ChatGPT in the workplace at speed, according to new research, amid calls for workplace leaders to introduce guardrails for the nascent technology. The study of 1200 Gen Z Australians found that 58 per cent of them are already using and embracing tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in the office, and almost all (93 per cent) are not worried about it threatening their job. Hatch co-founders Chaz Heitner and Adam Jacobs with investor Taryn Pieterse. Credit: Steven Siewert Young workers are ramping up their use of the chatbots despite the highly publicised risks associated with the technology, including ‘hallucinations’ – faulty or misleading responses – and security risks associated with feeding sensitive workplace data into the large language models. The research was conducted by Hatch, an online jobs marketplace described as ‘Seek for Gen Z’. Hatch CEO Adam Jacobs, a co-founder of The Iconic, said Gen Z’s keenness to embrace AI technologies should be viewed as an asset to businesses. “It’s very natural for young people, who are digital natives, to adopt new technologies,” he said. Loading “All employers are sitting at the start of a major wave of transformation brought on by AI and the next generation can help position them to ride that wave, rather than being threatened by it. “While there’s a lot that we still need to learn about the way AI is going to change our world, it’s comforting to hear that the next generation is optimistic about it.” Hatch head of AI Dr Arwen Griffioen said workplaces needed to establish guidelines and ensure that employees were trained in how hallucination, bias and error could be detected and mitigated.
Packers show they're a good team, not a great one in loss to VikingsKing and PM honour former US president Jimmy Carter after his death aged 100
(The Center Square) – House Oversight Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has opened an investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency over reports that it discriminated against supporters of Donald Trump. Comer said whistleblower reports suggest anti-Trump discrimination is rampant and has been going on for years. “[O]n the condition of anonymity, a FEMA official stated that the practice avoiding ‘white or conservative-dominated’ areas is an ‘open secret at the agency that has been going on for years,’” Comer said in a letter to FEMA. The investigation comes after FEMA fired one of its hurricane response supervisors after news went viral that she told her workers to avoid “Trump houses.” However, that employee has publicly said she was only following orders and acting according to the culture at FEMA. Comer and more than two dozen Republican lawmakers sent a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell demanding documentation, from internal policies to spending figures to incident reports. Lawmakers have pointed toward more anonymous sources backing up the fired employee’s claims. “Additionally, another whistleblower contacted the Committee during the hearing," the letter said. "This individual informed the Committee that a FEMA contractor warned a disabled veteran’s family in Georgia to remove Trump campaign materials from their home because FEMA supervisors viewed Trump supporters as domestic terrorists. At a hearing this week, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., pointed to 35 of his constituents who shared similar stories with him. Lawmakers grilled Criswell over the discrimination reports at the hearing as well as FEMA’s recent focus on Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts, something FEMA named as its number one goal in its latest strategic report. Lawmakers also raised concerns about the agency spending hundreds of millions of dollars on helping migrants. Defenders of FEMA have said the migrant funds do not take directly from disaster relief, while critics insist it shows missplaced priorities for the emergency relief agency. “In the fiscal year of 2023, FEMA spent nearly a billion dollars, $789 million, to shelter illegals in the United States,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., said at the hearing, as The Center Square previously reported . “This past year it was $641 million, and this money is largely distributed through NGOs...and this was to house illegal aliens," she added. "Not Americans, who by the way all that money, that comes from Americans bank accounts when they write their checks to pay their taxes." At the hearing this week, Criswell also said she will request the Inspector General investigate the question of political discrimination at FEMA. She also said she does not think this fired employee is indicative of a broader problem in the agency but is looking into it. Criswell said FEMA workers went back to the homes that were skipped over by the fired employee and promised to ensure it doesn't happen again. “The Committee is in the process of investigating these claims,” the Oversight letter said. “If they are true, they would corroborate concerns that political discrimination extends beyond [the fired FEMA employee]. Furthermore, they suggest an apparent culture, whether sanctioned or not, within FEMA to politically discriminate against disaster survivors, specifically those who support President-elect Donald Trump.”