[GWSG] New iron cement; Pope Francis on climate; Rapids retrofit; bird-friendly tower; 6GW of battery storage; CODA

[Tilley, Al]

1.  A new kind of cement is five time stronger than Portland cement, is made without high heat from recycled steel dust and broken glass, and absorbs CO2 like a sponge.  It is not clear that it is scalable to replace Portland cement entirely but even if not it should prove useful.  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/cement-alternative-absorbs-carbon-dioxide-like-sponge/



2.  The Vatican will host a conference "Protect the Earth, Dignify Humanity.  The Moral Dimensions of Climate Change and Sustainable Development" on April 28.  Pope Francis is expected to release an encyclical on climate in June or July.   http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/15/3647548/vatican-announces-major-summit-climate-change/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cptop3



3.  The Dutch Rapids consortium has a standardized retrofit package which will take a common housing design to net zero energy in ten days for the amount residents already pay for power. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/taking-dutch-housing-from-energy-hog-to-net-zero-in-less-than-ten-days-94868



4.  The second US solar tower, and the first with energy storage, is the 110 MW Crescent Dunes project near Las Vegas.  Propaganda against solar towers has used misportrayals of bird mortality.  Systematic scattered focusing of the heliostats during standby has reduced mortality to near zero.   http://cleantechnica.com/2015/04/16/one-weird-trick-prevents-bird-deaths-solar-towers/



5.  Batteries become cost-effective at the utility scale when they are cheaper than natural gas peaking power plants.  They appear to be at that point.  Last year California, New York, and Texas announced plans to add more than 6GW of energy storage.  http://climatecrocks.com/2015/04/16/why-battery-storage-is-already-unstoppable-and-will-be-huge/



6.  An interview with the CEO of CODA Energy addresses the technology, current market, and expectations of battery power storage.  Among other activities, they are piloting an uninterruptable power supply renewable microgrid at a military base.    http://cleantechnica.com/2015/04/17/interview-energy-storage-company-coda-energy/?utm_source=Cleantechnica+News&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cf8f1b3afd-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_term=0_b9b83ee7eb-cf8f1b3afd-331994013
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