Opinion:
¶ “Growing Climate Threat: Liquefied Natural Gas Exports” • If we increase overseas exports of liquefied natural gas, far from creating the climate-friendly replacement for dirtier fossil fuels touted by the gas industry, we will be making it more difficult for both the US and the importing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]
LNG carrier (Martian-2008, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “A 9 Year Old Died From Asthma – Her Death Was Most Likely Caused By Air Pollution” • The story of a young girl in London, Ella Kissi-Debrah, who was nine years old when she died, is one of heartbreak. She died in 2013 from asthma. Years later, in 2018, a report found that unlawful levels of pollution likely contributed to Kissi-Debrah’s death. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “‘Rambo Root’ Could Help With Climate Action, Peace Building, And Environmental Issues” • The low-cost root crop cassava, called ‘Rambo root’ for its rugged appearance and resilient attributes, produces the highest amount of calories per hectare in most tropical countries. It can withstand increasing temperatures and thrives in poor soils. [EurekAlert]
Harvesting cassava (International Center for Tropical Agriculture)
World:
¶ “Vestas Backs Pioneering Green Ammonia Plant” • Vestas is backing the development of the what could be the world’s first commercial-scale green ammonia plant. With the potential to be operating as soon as 2022, the 10 MW project will be located in Western Jutland, Denmark, and will produce over 5,000 tons of green ammonia annually. [reNEWS]
¶ “Toyota Says It May Finally Be Ready To Make An Electric Car” • Toyota, which is heavily committed to hybrid and fuel cell technology, announced that it has developed a flexible, scalable chassis for electric vehicles. The company will take the wraps off an all new electric SUV destined for European customers in a few months. [CleanTechnica]
Toyota electric SUV (Image courtesy of Toyota)
¶ “Japan Aims To Boost Government Use Of Renewable Power” • The Japanese government is planning to boost use of electricity generated from renewable energy sources at ministries and state-owned facilities to 30% in the April 2021-March 2022 fiscal year. The goal is a first step towards achieving the country’s 2050 decarbonization target. [Argus Media]
¶ “Goldwind Wraps Up Stockyard Hill Turbine Installation” • Goldwind Australia has completed the installation of all 149 wind turbines at the 530-MW Stockyard Hill wind farm. The project is in Victoria, about 35 km west of Ballarat. Final commissioning and project completion activities will continue into early 2021 at the facility. [reNEWS]
Stockyard Hill wind farm (Goldwind image)
¶ “NB Power Provides Mixed Messages On Future Of Nuclear Power In Province” • In New Brunswick, NB Power may talking the economic potential of small modular nuclear reactors, but it is not ready to start banking on their electricity just yet. NB Power’s new 20-year forecast of where it plans to get its power does not include SMRs. [CBC.ca]
¶ “Oz Minerals’ West Musgrave Project Set To Become ‘One Of The Largest Fully Off-Grid Renewable Powered Mines In The World’” • Copper miner Oz Minerals had been considering a 55-MW hybrid diesel-solar-wind system for a mine in Western Australia. Now, it says it is committed to developing a roadmap to 100% renewable energy. [pv magazine Australia]
West Musgrave (Cassini Resources image)
US:
¶ “Falling Sales, Job Losses And Bankruptcies: Pain Spreads Across Coal Country” • President Donald Trump promised he would save the US coal industry. But as his tenure winds down, the industry is plagued by falling demand, bankruptcies and job losses. It has lost 8,000 jobs, or 15% of its workforce, over the last 12 months. [CNN]
¶ “Nestlé Invests In Taygete I Solar Project” • Nestlé announced it is investing in Taygete I, a 2,000-acre solar project owned and developed by 7X Energy in Pecos County, Texas. This is Nestle’s largest direct investment (by capacity) in a renewable energy project to date. The solar project will produce 250 MW (AC) of electricity. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Flowers and solar panels (Nestlé image)
¶ “City-Led Clean Infrastructure For A Stronger America” • The Rocky Mountain Institute and Bloomberg Philanthropies have released an analysis for how cities can help America recover from the COVID-19 pandemic while building American infrastructure for the future, so they can advance climate, clean energy, equity, and resilience goals. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “We Learned A LOT About The Aptera Today” • Aptera hosted an online Q&A session, in which it covered a variety of topics about its new electric vehicle, amplifying the announcements it made a few days ago with a lot more information. It also has provided 9.5 minute video giving us some much better views of the vehicle. [CleanTechnica]
Aptera (Chris Anthony, CEO, Aptera Motors Corp, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Amazon Takes Renewables Offtake To 6.5 GW” • Amazon says it is now the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, with the addition of 26 new utility-scale wind and solar projects around the world. Amazon’s renewables offtake deals now cover 6.5 GW of clean electricity production capacity, with 127 wind and solar projects in total. [reNEWS]
¶ “Dominion Energy And Smithfield Foods Complete First-Of-Its-Kind Renewable Natural Gas Project In Utah” • Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods, Inc, announced completion of the first renewable natural gas project of their joint venture. Located in Utah, the project is now producing RNG from waste from 26 family farms. [WFMZ Allentown]
Have an outrageously enjoyable day.
geoharvey 