Opinion:
¶ “The End of Fossil-Fuelled Cars” • The current growth rate of EVs looks to be higher than the 42% that gives a doubling time of 2 years. If it can maintain a 42% CAGR, and EV sales take the entire market in 2031, even without such revolutionary changes as driverless cars and the ubiquitous ridesharing that some analysts predict. [CleanTechnica]
1919 Rauch & Lang electric car
¶ “A New Metaphor” • There is a point at which climate deniers are exercising freedom of speech. And there is another point at which they are falsely endangering people. The question of whether a climate denier believed what he was saying may be irrelevant if he was acting in strong self-interest despite experts telling him he was wrong. [Green Energy Times]
¶ “America the Decrepit: The Trump Plan Won’t Fix the Infrastructure Deficit” • President Trump promised a $1 trillion infrastructure program as a key part of his plan to make the US economy great again. But as each month passes, the likelihood of the administration proposing an infrastructure program grows more remote. [Truth-Out]
Tacoma narrows bridge, 1940 (Credit: Wikipedia Commons)
Science and Technology:
¶ The artificial leaf is smaller than a playing card and as thin as a real leaf. At its core is a wafer of the silicon used in standard solar panels. It is sandwiched between two coats of chemical catalysts. The silicon’s job is to absorb sunlight and to pass the energy to the catalysts, and the catalysts use this to make hydrogen and oxygen from water. [The Press]
World:
¶ Gaza cannot run a new sewage facility for more than a few hours a day because of an ongoing electricity crisis, so raw sewage is contaminating beaches and groundwater in both Gaza and Israel. A group of local Israeli leaders is calling for help to provide Gaza with electricity to avert a crisis that “does not take into account political borders.” [CNN]
Visitor at a beach with contaminated water
¶ Research and consultancy company Green Energy Markets has released its first Australian Renewable Index Report to help the whole community understand the contribution renewables are making to the energy market. The Index will report monthly on renewable energy usage, jobs creation, pollution reduction, and power bill savings. [ECU News]
¶ The Ktunaxa Nation Council announced it is partnering with Columbia Basin Trust, Accelerate Kootenays, and Solar Now to install solar arrays on the rooftop of the Ktunaxa Nation Government Building in Cranbrook, British Columbia. The grid-tied, 40-kW, 119-solar-panel system will generate 45,000 kWh of electricity annually. [BCLocalNews]
Solar installation
¶ The world is approaching a watershed moment as energy demand is set to plateau from 2030, driven by greater efficiency with the wider application of electricity. A rapid decarbonization of the energy supply is underway with renewables set to make up almost half of the energy mix by 2050, DNV GL’s inaugural Energy Transition Outlook said. [LNG Industry]
¶ Half of Romania’s national energy output was provided from renewable sources on Sunday, with wind power providing the biggest share. Wind turbines provided 30.73% of the national production output, hydropower provided 11.33%, solar energy contributed 6.63%, biomass provided 0.61%. Coal accounted for 24.36% and nuclear 19%. [Business Review]
Windfarm
¶ DONG Energy has got first power from its 659-MW Walney 3 wind farm, under construction in the Irish Sea. The first of 40 MHI Vestas V164-8.0MW turbines have begun exporting to the National Grid, the Danish company said. A further 47 Siemens Gamesa 7-MW machines will complete the project. Seajacks ships are performing installation. [reNews]
¶ No new coal-based power plants will be allowed by the Indian government, apart from those already under construction. This is in the national electricity plan. A recent Greening the Grid report said that by 2022, 175,000 MW of renewable energy can be integrated into the grid, minimizing the need for traditional sources of energy. [EnergyInfraPost]
Transporting coal by rail
US:
¶ Hog Power Energy, a new company in Sioux City, Iowa, aims to help pork producers reduce electricity costs through the use of renewable energy created with a self-contained solar generator system developed by its founder. The all-in-one solar powered system includes an 11-kW solar panel system and a 20-kW battery. [Sioux City Journal]
¶ Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the bill for reconstruction after Hurricane Harvey could be as high as $180 billion (£138 billion). The damage caused by Hurricane Katrina was about $120 billion. The head of FEMA, the government’s disaster management agency, warned that flood-hit states should not rely on Washington to pay the bill. [BBC]
Remaining floodwaters (Getty Images)
¶ The Rhode Island Department of Health wants climate change included in the decision-making for the proposed Burrillville power plant. It outlined a list of health threats from global warming, including increases in infectious diseases, asthma, respiratory diseases, and death, with greater harm to low-income earners, the elderly, and children. [ecoRI news]
¶ Edmonton-based Capital Power says it will to go ahead with a $182-million wind farm in North Dakota. The company expects the 99-MW New Frontier Wind project to begin construction immediately and start commercial operation in December of 2018. Capital Power says it signed a deal for a fixed price for 12 years. [Daily Commercial News]
geoharvey 