World:
¶ “GE Renewable Energy To Build The First Wind Farm In Lâm Đồng Province In Vietnam” • GE Renewable Energy announced that it has been awarded a contract by Ocean Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company to supply a total of 15 of GE’s 4-MW-137 wind turbines for the Cau Dat Wind Farm, Lâm Đồng Province, Vietnam. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Wind turbine (GE Renewable Energy image)
¶ “BT And Total Sign A Three-Year Renewable Electricity Deal” • Total Gas & Power will supply BT Group, a telecommunications giant, with 100% renewable electricity after signing a three-year contract. The energy will be from a mix of sources including solar, wind and hydro. Total will provide about half the electricity for BT’s 3,100 sites in the UK. [Total Telecom]
¶ “UK Trade Group Unveils Green Hydrogen Roadmap” • The UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association released a roadmap for green hydrogen deployment. Association members include ITM Power, Anglo American, BOC, Northern Gas Networks, and Rolls Royce. It urged the UK Government to consider the economics of hydrogen on the long term. [reNEWS]
ITM Power energy storage (ITM Power image)
¶ “Broken Devices At Fukushima Plant Fail To Record Vital Quake Data” • Two seismometers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant failed to record data from a powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of the prefecture on February 13, the plant operator said. TEPCO was aware that they were broken but did not repair them. [Asahi Shimbun]
¶ “CIP Unveils Plans For Esbjerg Green Ammonia Plant” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners unveiled plans to build Europe’s largest power-to-x facility in Denmark to use offshore windpower to make green ammonia. CIP said the plant will have a 1 GW electrolyzer and that the ammonia will be used as both as agricultural fertiliser and as fuel. [reNEWS]
Port of Esbjerg, the plant site (Port of Esbjerg image)
India:
¶ “India To Offer Solar Manufacturers Incentives Of $640 Million” • India’s solar power sector is heavily dependent on imports, with up to 90% of solar modules in India being sourced from China. To address that issue, the Indian government has announced a $640 million incentive program for solar cell and module manufacturers. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Indian State Auctions 6.4 GW Of Solar At 3.68¢ Per kWh” • The Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh auctioned 6.4 GW of solar power capacity under a recent tender. Industry watchers were surprised as developers offered to set up as much as 14.3 GW of capacity, with bids that ranged from ₹2.47 to ₹2.58 (3.52¢ to 3.68¢) per kWh. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array in India (Epagemakerwiki, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Fresh Trouble For Indian Solar Developers As Utilities Dishonor Auction Results” • A power distribution company in the Indian state of Gujarat asked the state regulator not to approve tariffs of 700 MW of solar power projects it had auctioned last year. The basis of this plea is the 40% drop in tariff bids that has happened since the auction. [CleanTechnica]
US:
¶ “Flood Risk Is Growing For US Homeowners Due To Climate Change. Current Insurance Rates Greatly Underestimate The Threat, A Report Finds” • A report finds that homes covered by the National Flood Insurance Program face losses each year dwarf the costs of their NFIP premiums. The premiums cover only about a fifth of the average cost. [CNN]
Flood (SC National Guard, public domain)
¶ “Texas Is Still Reeling From Devastating Winter Storms And For Some, Recovery Could Take Months” • While state officials work to turn the lights back on for those Texas households that are still in the dark and to address widespread water disruptions, some residents are faced with damage that could take weeks – or months – to recover from. [CNN]
¶ “Aptera Is Going Gangbusters” • Aptera, the company making a super-efficient electric vehicle with ranges up to 1000 miles, had some great news to report as it pushes toward production later this year or early the next. Orders are still piling in, and investors (including a prominent automotive expert) are putting cash into the company. [CleanTechnica]
Aptera (Image courtesy of Aptera)
¶ “Biggest Oil Refinery Cleanup In US History Begins” • On June 21, 2019, part of a refinery in Philadelphia blew up. With that, the Philadelphia Energy Solutions facility, the largest oil refinery on the US east coast, was closed permanently. Now plans are afoot to clean up the site, a process that will take at least a decade and cost a billion dollars or more. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ford Powerboost Hybrids Saved Some Texas Families” • One unforeseen benefit has come from the introduction of hybrids to the pickup truck segment. The hybrids’ generator capability literally saved lives in Texas recently, and it will probably happen again with electric trucks. The F150, for example, has various generator options. [CleanTechnica]
Power plugs of an F150 Powerboost (Image courtesy of Ford)
¶ “US Coal Capacity Factor Dropped From 67.1% In 2010 To 47.5% In 2019” • CleanTechnica has documented the significant drop in coal power capacity across the country in recent years. But it is important to note that the coal capacity that still remains online is being put to use less and less. It is an interesting trend as we watch the decline of coal. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hawaii Electric Blows Past 2020 Target On Road To 100% Renewable Energy” • Hawaii’s largest utility, Hawaiian Electric, says it has blown past its mandated 2020 renewable energy target, reporting that 34.5% of its electricity generation mix was made up of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The goal for the year was 30%. [RenewEconomy]
Have a fundamentally stellar day.
geoharvey 