Opinion:
¶ “Texas GOP Attacks AOC With False Claims … For Trying To Help Texans, Americans, And The World” • Texas’ GOP Chair, Allen West, rather than working to help Texans in a time of dire need, decided to switch the issue. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $2 million for Texans, so he attacked her and clean energy with falsehoods. [CleanTechnica]
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (nrkbeta, Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “In Face Of Global Warming, The Climate Scepticism Of The UK Press Is Finally Starting To Melt” • The new green face paint of the British press is not just based on public opinion. It also responds to new Government policy. Downing Street is working hard to bring the Tory press in line with Boris Johnson’s strategy for a “green industrial revolution.” [iNews]
¶ “Texas Gov’t Just “Decided 60% Of The Population Wouldn’t Get Power For A Few Days”” • It’s been a crazy week of snow, ice, rolling blackouts, and sadness all across the South, but especially in Texas. The government of Texas looks like it mismanaged the grid completely. It even looks like it is intentionally freezing the state’s poor. [CleanTechnica]
Deep freeze (Hunter Gascon, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “India May Have Already Passed Peak Coal” • A recent report says India may have passed peak coal share in its electricity mix. Energy think tank Ember reports that the share of coal-based electricity has been on the decline since 2018. In 2020, the share of coal power declined by 5%, taking the total decline in its share since 2018 to 8%. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Daimler Considering Early End Of ICE Vehicle Production” • Daimler has said it wants to have a CO₂-free fleet by 2039, but it now looks like it could end internal combustion engine vehicle production as much as eight years early. GM recently set a target of 100% EV sales by 2035 and Ford set a target of 100% passenger EV sales in Europe by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
Mercedes EQC Electric (Daimler/Mercedes-Benz image)
¶ “Nearly 30 GW Of New Wind Energy Capacity Was Auctioned In H2 Of 2020” • According to new analysis by GWEC Market Intelligence in its latest quarterly update, nearly 30 GW of new wind power capacity was awarded globally through auctions in the second half of 2020. This is an increase from the 28 GW awarded during H2 2019. [ESI Africa]
¶ “Indian Cell Manufacturer Plans New 1-GW Cell And Module Line” • Efforts by the Indian government to promote domestic solar cell and module manufacturing are now getting responses from companies. Premier Energies announced plans to invest ₹4.8 billion ($68 million) in a PV manufacturing line with 1 GW of annual production capacity. [CleanTechnica]
Premier Energies ad (Premier Energies image)
¶ “Scotland Can Become The Richest Nation Of The British Isles With Our Abundance Of Renewables” • In a comprehensively researched report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s renewable energy potential is shown to be several times greater than its total domestic needs for not just electricity, but also heat, transport, and everything else. [The National]
¶ “Shell Foundation And DFC Collaborating To Accelerate Energy Access” • The Shell Foundation, a UK charity, and the International Development Finance Corporation, based in the US, are collaborating to bring affordable renewable energy to more than 5 million people in low-income areas of Africa and Asia by 2025. [ESI Africa]
Light (Pixabay image)
¶ “South Africa’s Taxpayers Exposed To Nuclear Waste Disposal And Decommissioning Liabilities” • Citizens and taxpayers in South Africa may believe that Eskom and the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa, are providing funding to cover the costs of decommissioning and disposal of high-level nuclear waste. But they aren’t. [ESI Africa]
¶ “EDF Powers French Public Transport” • French utility EDF is to supply electricity to state-owned public transport operator RATP from five wind farms in France under a three-year power purchase agreement. EDF will deliver 51 GWh this year and 60 GWh each in 2022 and 2023, representing about 4% of RATP’s consumption. [reNEWS]
Wind turbines (EDF image)
US:
¶ “Forecast: Solar Power Over 50% Of US Power Capacity Growth In Next 3 Years” • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission expects that slightly more than 50% of new US power capacity in the next 3 years will come from solar power, and that takes just large-scale solar power projects into account, not small-scale or rooftop installations. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Tesla Solar plus Powerwall Gives Texan Electricity In Middle Of Blacked Out Neighborhood” • Insurance seems expensive until you need it. And in this, again, a Tesla Powerwall is much like a hardware version of insurance. Here is a story about one household in Texas that paid for the insurance, and the insurance paid off in a time of need. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla shingles, Tesla storage, Tesla car (Tesla image)
¶ “Republicans Eye Federal Funds To Help Pay Exorbitant Energy Bills In Texas” • Reportedly, some Texans whose power stayed now face enormous bills, as private companies capitalize. The New York Times reported that one man in the Dallas suburbs faced an electricity bill for nearly $17,000, 70 times his usual bill for all utilities combined. [The Guardian]
¶ “Natural Gas Companies Have Their Own Plans To Go Low-Carbon” • Fossil fuel companies face an existential threat as more governments and businesses tackle climate change and vow to zero-out carbon emissions. Kim Heiting, senior vice president of operations for NW Natural, says her company’s pipelines can deliver gas that is low carbon. [NPR]
Have a plainly glorious day.
geoharvey 