Opinion:
¶ “How Joe Biden’s Ambitious Infrastructure Bill Will Impact Renewable Energy” • Rob Gramlich, Grid Strategies President, joins Yahoo Finance Live to break down President Joe Biden’s ambitious infrastructure bill and its impact on renewable energy. The discussion starts with the initiatives that are included in the American Jobs Act. [Yahoo Finance]
Solar array (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Evidence Of Antarctic Glacier’s Tipping Point Confirmed For First Time” • Researchers at Northumbria University have confirmed for the first time that Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica could cross tipping points, leading to a rapid and irreversible retreat which would have significant consequences for global sea level. [EurekAlert!]
World:
¶ “Volkswagen’s European Factories Up To 95% Powered By Renewables” • In 2020, Volkswagen Group increased the share of renewables powering its European factories from 80% to 95%, and ten of its factories became 100% renewably powered. The target is for Volkswagen’s factories to reach 100% renewable power by 2023. [CleanTechnica]
Wind turbines (Volkswagen image)
¶ “Tesla Is Leading The Global EV Market Again (Charts!)” • Tesla is leading the global market again with sales of its Model 3 and Model Y EVs. The Model 3’s sales exceeded those of the Wuling Mini EV in February, which held the top spot in January. And the Tesla Model 3 is sure to pass it for the quarter when the March sales figures come in. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UK Labour Party Pushes For Electric Vehicle Revolution” • The UK EV market has been hot, but it could be much hotter, and the Labour Party wants to make it so. Party leadership want to increase access to EVs, increase charging infrastructure, and speed up EV adoption. Incentives include interest-free loans and credits for scrapping polluting cars. [CleanTechnica]
Citroën e-C4 (© Citroën Communication / DR)
¶ “Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corp Commissions Farm-Based Solar Power Unit In Jaipur” • Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd commissioned a farm-based solar power project under the PM-KUSUM scheme. The system is the first in a 722-MW project to help the farmers earn additional income through their unused land. [Devdiscourse]
¶ “Investor Ardian Goes Digital Across 3.5-G W Portfolio” • The renewables investor Ardian has partnered with Greenbyte and Pexapark for a “major upgrade” to the digital asset management systems for its 3500-MW portfolio. Their goal is to implement an end-to-end renewable energy online platform to monitor technical and market risks. [reNEWS]
Wind turbines (Cameron Venti, Unsplash)
¶ “Experts Threaten To Quit Over New EU ‘Green Finance’ Rules” • Nine experts in a European Commission advisor group on sustainable finance rules threatened to step down if Brussels continues to uphold rules they see as “a clear contradiction to climate science.” One rule they object to would classify some gas-fired plants as sustainable. [EUobserver]
US:
¶ “Energy Secretary Granholm: Focus On Renewable Energy Will Protect US ‘Manufacturing Backbone’” • President Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes hundreds of billions of dollars to address climate change by cutting emissions and increasing the use of clean energy. Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm is with PBS to discuss the matter. [PBS]
Secretary Jennifer Granholm (US DOE, public domain, cropped)
¶ “Latest FERC Reports Show Renewables Significantly Out-Performed Nuclear Power In 2020” • Several reports by the Energy Information Administration and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission show that the mix of renewable energy sources significantly out-performed and expanded their lead over nuclear power in 2020. [Solar Power World]
¶ “RIPTA To Tap Solar Energy With New Collaboration” • The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority estimates that it will save a quarter of a million dollars in electricity costs annually through a remote net energy agreement with Kearsarge Energy. The 2,807-kW solar array is on the brownfield site of a former tank farm in East Providence. [Mass Transit]
RIPTA solar array (RIPTA image)
¶ “In A Record Year For Clean Energy Purchases, Southeast Cities Stand Out” • Cities around the country bought more renewable energy last year than ever before, data from the Rocky Mountain Institute and World Resources Institute shows. About half of the “most noteworthy” of the cities are in the area stretching from Texas to Washington, DC. [Energy News Network]
¶ “GE Renewable Energy To Provide Turbines For Invenergy Wind Farms” • GE Renewable Energy has signed a wind turbines supply contract with power generation company Invenergy for three wind farms in Oklahoma. The farms, with a combined capacity of 1485 MW, will be owned by American Electric Power once completed. [Power Technology]
Wind turbines in Oklahoma (General Electric image, cropped)
¶ “PNM’s Plans For The Future Include Reduced Baseload Power And Increased Renewable Energy” • New Mexico’s largest electric utility is planning to reduce its baseload power while increasing power generated by renewable resources and possibly adding natural gas generation with turbines capable of producing power from hydrogen. [The NM Political Report]
¶ “Advanced Nuclear Reactor Planned North Of Richland” • Energy Northwest, Grant County PUD, and X-energy announced a partnership to see through the development and commercial demonstration of the first advanced nuclear reactor in the US. The power plant will be built on an existing Energy Northwest site, north of Richland, Washington. [KXLY]
Have an indubitably delightful day.
geoharvey 