Opinion:
¶ “If The Earth Is Warming, Why Is It So Cold In Chicago?” • The record cold temperatures have prompted the alleged leader of the free world to tweet America could use some good old-fashioned “global waming.” The thing The Donald is incapable of comprehending is that weather and climate are two separate and distinct things. [CleanTechnica]
Temperatures and the polar vortex (NASA image)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Solar Power Research Study Investigates Rapidly Declining Costs” • MIT researchers published a paper on the steady decrease in solar PV module costs over the last several decades in the journal Energy Policy. They confirmed, “PV module costs fell by about 20% with every doubling of cumulative capacity since the 1970s.” [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “$5,000 Electric Pickup Truck Coming To Europe And US” • China’s Kaiyun Motors says it will bring its Pickman electric pickup truck to Europe and the US this year. The diminutive vehicle is not a gargantuan Rivian and it probably won’t scare the folks at Tesla, but it has something those others don’t – a price tag of just $5,000. [CleanTechnica]
Pickman electric pickup truck
¶ “Siemens Gamesa Scores 567-MW Order From ReNew Power In India” • Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will supply 270 wind turbines totalling 567 MW for two Indian turnkey projects by local independent power producer ReNew Power, it was announced. The turbines will be installed in the states of Gujarat and Karnataka. [Renewables Now]
¶ “Taiwan’s Government Affirms Commitment To Abolish Nuclear By 2025” • Taiwan will maintain its goal of abolishing nuclear power by May 2025, despite the vote in last November’s referendum, which required the removal of an article of legislation calling for all six nuclear reactors on the island to be shuttered. [The News Lens International]
Protest (Credit: Travis Wise | CC BY 2.0)
¶ “Kudankulam: Nuclear Power Utility Struggles To Repay Russia For Supplies” • Inadequate budgetary support for nuclear energy over the last two financial years squeezed funds for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited. This resulted in its slipping on its repayment obligations to the Russians for equipment supplies. [The Indian Express]
Australia:
¶ “Australia Is Sweltering Through Record-Breaking Heat. And The Worst Is Yet To Come” • As the US suffers from record cold, with temperatures plummeting below -32° C (-27° F), Australia is sweltering through an extreme heat wave. Scientists link increasingly hot dry weather to climate change, which they say will bring even worse weather. [CNN]
Making firebreaks (Heath Holden | Getty Images)
¶ “Australian Senate Report Urges EV Push” • The Australian Senate Select Committee on Electric Vehicles report calls for a major initiative to bring electric vehicles to the country. It says Australia could miss out on the environmental benefits a transition to electric vehicles can bring, benefits that include better health for its citizens. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Powering The World’s Largest Telescope” • The Square Kilometre Array’s thousands of dishes and million antennas in the deserts of Australia and Africa will revolutionize radio astronomy, as long as they can be supplied with electricity. Renewable resources offer a way to provide that power inexpensively. [Physics Today]
Radio astronomy dishes (Credit: SKA South Africa)
UK:
¶ “UK Government Awards Funding To Carbon-Cutting Rail Projects” • Five projects are to receive £350,000 each from government to adapt their schemes for the rail network. They were chosen for development funding that focuses on innovative schemes that can cut the carbon footprint of the UK’s railway systems. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “Renewable Energy Now Accounts For 36% Of North’s Electricity Demand ” • Renewable energy accounted for a record 36% of electricity used in Northern Ireland in 2018 (up from 31% the year before), according to analysis from the System Operator for Northern Ireland. The country is on track to hit its target of 40% in 2020. [The Irish News]
The SONI control center in Belfast
¶ “Flow Battery Tie-Up Targets UK Renewables” • Canadian flow battery provider CellCube has joined forces with local energy storage consultancy Immersa to target opportunities in the UK. According to CellCube president Stefan Schauss, the UK’s capacity driven market, with its solar and wind farms, provide business opportunities. [reNEWS]
US:
¶ “Louisiana’s Cleco Power Plots 1 GW Of Wind” • Louisiana-based Cleco Power announced a proposed integrated resource plan that would reduce the operation of the company’s oldest coal-burning power plant and add up to 1.4 GW of clean energy, the Sierra Club said. The coal plant may be uneconomical to run at all. [North American Windpower]
Sunset at a power plant
¶ “These Dozen States Could Move To 100% Renewable Electricity” • Last year, California set the most ambitious energy goal in the nation: reaching 100% renewable energy in just over 25 years. This year, as many as 13 other states are rearing to join it. The states are signalling they will not wait for the federal government to change course. [CBS News]
¶ “US DOD Wants A Small Mobile Nuclear Reactor That Fits In A C-17 Airlifter” • The Department of Defense wants a portable nuclear reactor the size of a main battle tank that is capable of being lifted to overseas hot spots. The reactor would provide megawatts of power for US forces, making them less reliant on diesel fuel. [Army Recognition]
Have a memorably pleasant day.
geoharvey 