Opinion:
¶ “Much More Rooftop Solar From An Alternative To Monopoly Utility Models” • Electric utilities have struggled to find a place for rooftop solar power in their business models. Now, Vote Solar and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance have a modeling system that might put distributed solar on the same footing as the large power plants for grid planning. [CleanTechnica]
Houses with rooftop solar systems (ILSR image)
¶ “Tesla’s New Engagement Hub” • Tesla recently launched its newest platform, the Engagement Platform, which is a platform for both Tesla’s public policy team and Tesla owners clubs. Now those of us who are interested in Tesla have a place to come, create an account, and get involved in a company that we believe in, even if we don’t own a Tesla. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Making The Polluters Pay” • With carbon pricing alone no longer seen as enough to meet the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, what other options are there? Dr Matt Goodwin, sales director at sustainable fuel company Waste Knot Energy, said “Carbon pricing is having an effect, but … [We] need CO₂ emissions to go into reverse.” [Raconteur]
Pollution (Daniel Moqvist, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Power Crisis: Sri Lanka Aiming To Go For Only Renewable Energy Sources Within Ten Years” • Sri Lanka is working on a plan to power the country using entirely renewable energy sources within the next decade, the country’s Power Minister said. Currently, the government is dependent on polluting oil-fired generators. [EconomyNext]
¶ “Wärtsilä To Install ‘First-Of-Its-Kind’ Floating Battery Storage Solution In Southeast Asia” • Wärtsilä Corporation will deploy a floating battery system to provide ancillary services for a thermal power facility in the Philippines. The battery system will provide 54 MW, 32 MWh of electric energy storage for a 100-MW diesel powered barge. [Energy Storage News]
Wärtsilä floating barge (Wärtsilä Corporation image)
¶ “Argentina To Increase Its Onshore Wind Power Capacity By Threefold During 2021–2030” • In 2020, around 9% of the total power generated in Argentina was derived from renewable power sources. The country plans to increase this percentage by more than threefold by 2030. Windpower will provide more than 65% of the renewable energy. [Power Technology]
¶ “Uniquely Designed Kruisvallei Hydro Now Operational In Free State” • The Kruisvallei hydro-electric power plant in South Africa’s Free State Province is operating commercially. The plant has two run-of-river hydropower units that combine to supply 4 MW of hydro-electric power. It will provide power for about 1,916 households. [ESI Africa]
Hydro plant (kruisvalleihydro.energy)
¶ “Australia To Reach 30% Non-Hydro Renewable Energy By 2030” • A recent study by market analyst Fitch Solutions now claims that non-hydro renewable energy generation will make up close to a third (30%) of Australia’s total power mix by the end of the decade, driven by growth in the production of green hydrogen. [PV-Tech]
¶ “Acciona Makes 63-M W Polish Power Play” • Spanish energy company Acciona is to supply electricity to the automotive components manufacturer Brembo from the 63-MW Krobia 1 wind farm in Poland under a five-year virtual power purchase agreement. The contract will partially offset Brembo’s energy needs at its plants in Poland. [reNEWS]
Wind turbines (Acciona image)
¶ “CeraPhi Energy Collaborates With Fraser Well Management On Geothermal Solutions In The UK, US, And Europe” • The geothermal company CeraPhi Energy teamed with specialist well engineering and project management company Fraser Well Management to deliver a green geothermal energy solution that can be scaled up. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “Fukushima Gains Ground In Plan To Cover All Power With Renewables” • Fukushima Prefecture, home to the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, is making big headway on its goal to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2040. The coastline of Minami-Soma is now dotted with windmills and solar power panels. [Asahi Shimbun]
Hiyama Plateau Wind Farm, Fukushima Pref (Σ64, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
US:
¶ “Wells Fargo Is Joining The Green Wave Sweeping Finance” • Wells Fargo is embracing ambitious lending goals to fight the climate crisis. The bank is setting a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions, including from the companies and projects it finances, by 2050. Wells Fargo has long been a major backer of fossil fuel projects. [CNN]
¶ “Biden Admin Advances Major Offshore Wind Farm” • The next-to-last requirement for the Vinyard Wind project to move forward was the final environmental impact statement from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It now has that. With the next step, construction can start in federal waters 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. [E&E News]
Illustration of the Vineyard Wind project (Vineyard Wind image)
¶ “Multiyear Drought Builds In Western US With Little Relief In Sight” • While much has been written this year on atmospheric rivers, avalanche warnings, and even flash flooding, the western half of the US is experiencing a crushing drought. While parts of the Northeast are soggy, 80% of the land in the western US faces some official category of drought. [CNN]
¶ “Primoris Building Renewable Business Alongside Pipeline, Industrial Portfolio” • Primoris Services Corp, whose bread and butter has been pipeline and electric grid work, is now seeing some of its fastest growth in solar and other renewable energy products. The company has racked up a $1 billion backlog in solar projects alone. [Engineering News-Record]
Have a uniformly superb day.
geoharvey 