Opinion:
¶ “Turnbull just showed what happens when ‘ideology and idiocy take charge of energy policy'” • Some parts of the government do not believe in climate change. Their ideological ties to the coal-based power systems built 40 to 50 years ago has scuttled every attempt to develop credible climate change energy policy over the past 10 years. [The Guardian]
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a Snowy Hydro
power station in 2017 (Photo: Alex Ellinghausen | AA)
¶ “The Liberal party is self-destructing over energy. Here’s what you need to know” • The Turnbull government has flipped and flopped its position on the national energy guarantee with a remarkable tempo, even by the lowly standards of current Australian parliament. So how on earth did we get here? We’ve compiled this handy explainer. [The Guardian]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Tesla Model 3 Is The Most Efficient Electric Car On Highways” • New aggregated data from A Better Route Planner show that Tesla Model 3 efficiency is the highest of any production car at highway speeds. This outstanding efficiency, which is combined with great supercharging speeds, makes the Model 3 the best road tripping EV in production. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model 3
World:
¶ “What to look out for in SA’s new energy plan” • The South African Ministry of Energy is to release an updated electricity plan this month. Analysts hope it will launch the country’s power sector into a modern sustainable, clean power future, and that outdated and financially unfeasible facets of previous plans will be laid to rest. [The South African]
¶ “CEA working on optimised power system cost for 2030” • India’s Central Electricity Authority has undertaken a study to ascertain the cheapest power mix in 2030, its Chairman Pankaj Batra said. According to estimates by the Ministry of Power, the share of renewable energy in India’s electricity mix is set to increase to around 55% by 2030. [News Nation]
Transmission lines (News Nation File Photo)
¶ “Swiss startup ‘storing’ renewable energy in concrete towers” • Borrowing from pumped hydro energy storage principles, a Swiss startup is building energy storage systems using cranes and blocks of concrete instead of water and dams. The towers require much more space than lithium batteries unit of energy, but they last longer and use no chemicals. [OODA Loop]
¶ “ALPS system at Fukushima No 1 plant failing to remove more than tritium from toxic cooling water” • The tritium-tainted water piling up at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been found to contain more radioactive substances than just tritium, defying the defunct plant’s special treatment system, Kyodo News has learned. [The Japan Times]
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant (KYODO)
Australia:
¶ “Turnbull dumps emissions from NEG in final act of capitulation” • The Turnbull Coalition government has effectively dumped the emissions component from the proposed National Energy Guarantee, in what could be prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s final act of capitulation to the far right forces within the government parties. [RenewEconomy]
¶ “NEG is dead without emissions target, says ACT” • The Australian Capital Territory slammed the Turnbull government’s “complete capitulation” on the NEG’s emissions reduction pillar, saying it has killed off any hope the much maligned policy will do anything to address climate change – and any chance it might win the approval of the states. [RenewEconomy]
Yallourn W Power Station (Marcus Wong, Wikimedia Commons)
¶ “NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces Climate Change Fund money to reduce energy costs” • Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that $35 million would be given to about 250 manufacturing businesses to install energy efficient equipment and meters to track energy use. And $24.5 million will go to low-income renters for home efficiency. [ABC News]
¶ “Game changer for solar in Victoria” • The government of Victoria announced a $1.24 billion funding package to install solar on 650,000 Victorian homes over the next decade, adding about 2,000 MW of solar power. Environment Victoria, a leading charity, called the deal a game-changer and a breath of fresh air in the energy debate. [EcoGeneration]
Rooftop solar (Image: Shutterstock cc: OFC Pictures)
US:
¶ “Murray Energy Bankrolls Opposition To Lake Erie Icebreaker Wind Farm – #CleanTechnica Investigation” • We learned that Murray Energy, the largest privately owned US coal company, has bankrolled opposition to the 20.7-MW Icebreaker Wind project on Lake Erie. It may not be illegal, but it has been described by some involved as deceptive. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Mine cleanup funds at risk as coal power suppliers lose customers” • The defection of local electric cooperatives from a Colorado power wholesaler could imperil cleanup funds for coal mines, a complaint to federal regulators says. The funds, which are guaranteed by Tri-State Generation and Transmission, have no outside backing. [Energy News Network]
Part of a strip mine (Mark Olalde, Energy News Network)
¶ “Apple Agrees to Develop New Wind and Solar Energy Farms” • Apple, Akamai, Etsy, and Swiss Re announced an agreement to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in Illinois and Virginia. Spearheaded by Apple, the new projects will generate 290 MW and feed it into the PJM electric grid serving much of the Eastern US. [Chasing Markets]
¶ “GPA to sign contracts for 120 MW of solar power” • Guam Power Authority said its customers will save millions of dollars a year in fuel charges, as it gets ready to sign 25-year contracts with two companies to provide 120 MW of solar energy. The power agency is required to produce at least 25% of its power using renewable energy by 2035. [Pacific Daily News]
Have a gloriously happy day.
geoharvey 