Opinion:
¶ “Assisting Evolution: How Much Should We Help Species Adapt?” • It may no longer be enough to protect species from a changing environment – we may have to assist in their evolution if they are to survive the 21st Century. To protect natural species, it has come to the point that it may actually be necessary to guide their evolution artificially. [BBC]
Cat (Sangia, Unsplash)
¶ “USA Is So Freakin’ Far Behind Europe On Electric Vehicle Adoption – Or Is It?” • Europe is far ahead of the US in adopting EVs. That is exciting when thinking about the European side and depressing when thinking about the US side. But there is some hope that the US can step on a torquey accelerator pedal and reach new inspiring heights. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Finally, Infrastructure Week Isn’t A Joke” • For many years people have furrowed their brows and declared infrastructure “crumbling.” One former Transportation Secretary called the US “one big pothole.” That may be changing, as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg kicks off a major effort to jump-start infrastructure investments. [CleanTechnica]
Electric bus (Image courtesy of BYD)
Science and Technology:
¶ “All Eyes On $4 Million Diesel-Killing Hydrogen Locomotive In California” • Dirty diesel fuel still holds a tight grip on the heavy duty transportation sector, but US rail companies may be poised to break free. The Sierra Northern Railway just got a $4 million grant for a zero emission switcher locomotive powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Groundbreaking H3X Motor Brings Electric Aircraft One Step Closer To Reality” • The startup H3X says it has developed a compact electric motor that develops more than 3 times the power and weighs less than most commercially available motors. It claims its HPDM 250 motor has an output of 13 kW per kg (7.924 hp per lb). [CleanTechnica]
H3X motor (Image courtesy of H3X)
¶ “Solar Panels And Water Canals Could Form A Real Power Couple In California” • California has around 4,000 miles of canals that move clean water through the state. Research shows that if solar panels are installed over the canals, they could both generate electricity and keep up to 63 billion gallons of water from evaporating. [Popular Science]
World:
¶ “Samsung Reaches 100% Renewable Power In The US, China, And Europe” • In June 2018, Samsung committed to having all its worksites in the US, China, and Europe rely on electricity from renewable resources exclusively by 2020. After reaching 92% in 2019, the company achieved its goal of 100% renewable energy for these worksites in 2020. [Samsung Newsroom]
Solar panels at parking lots in Samsung campuses
¶ “India Can Increase Renewable Target Of 2030: Researchers” • Researchers at UC Santa Barbara released a study that examines electricity and carbon mitigation costs associated with achieving aggressive renewable energy targets in India’s electricity grid in 2030. It finds that wind-majority or balanced wind-solar targets are most cost-effective. [ETEnergyworld.com]
¶ “Eni And Strathclyde To Support Transition Of Workforces To The Renewable Energy Sector” • The University of Strathclyde, Italian oil company Eni, and Eni Corporate University signed an agreement to create a program to help people working in the oil and gas sector in Scotland to transfer their skills to the renewable energy technologies. [University of Strathclyde]
Offshore wind turbines (Nicholas Doherty, Unsplash)
¶ “ReNew Commissions 300-MW Wind Power Project In Kutch District Of Gujarat” • ReNew Power commissioned a 300-MW wind project in Gujarat. With this project, ReNew’s total wind energy capacity in Gujarat increased to 950 MW. The project will supply power to districts in Haryana and Odisha at ₹2.44 per kWh (3.4¢/kWh). [Business Standard]
¶ “Renewables Outstrip Fossil Fuels In UK In 2020” • Data from the UK government show that renewable electricity generation surpassed fossil fuels for the first year ever in 2020, providing 43% of the country’s electricity. Fossil fuels generated 38.5%, says the Energy Trends report from the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. [reNEWS]
Wind turbines (Yoon, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Solar Is Cheapest Electricity In History, US DOE Aims To Cut Costs 60% By 2030” • Solar power costs have been coming down for decades. That long and significant trend has already led to solar power becoming the cheapest option for new electricity in the world. And the US DOE aims to cut utility-scale solar power plant costs by 60% by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Pepsi Shares An Update On Its Tesla Semi Order” • In a press release, PepsiCo noted that its Frito-Lay division cut absolute fleet greenhouse gas emissions in half while reducing the use of diesel by 78% at its California production site. Pepsi said, “The remaining 15 electric tractors expected to deploy later this year,” referring to the Tesla Semi. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Semi
¶ “Virginia Drives Into A Cleaner Future” • Virginia Governor Northam signed into law a bill to join 17 other states that have adopted or are considering adoption of a “Clean Cars” program, setting the Commonwealth up to become the leader in EVs in the South. This will give new car buyers a chance to choose to save money with an EV. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Facebook And General Motors Use The Solar Farm To Power Facilities” • In Kentucky, a new Tennessee Valley Authority solar farm will provide Facebook’s regional data center operations with 145 MW of solar power and General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly, exclusive home of the Chevrolet Corvette, with 28 MW of solar power. [The Chattanoogan]
Have a shockingly shipshape day.
geoharvey 