Science and Technology:
¶ “The poorly understood power of seaweed” • Pia Winberg, a marine ecologist at the University of Wollongong, spent decades studying seaweed. She believes seaweed’s fast growth rate and ability to absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide can help fight climate change, deacidify the oceans, and change the way we farm, both in the oceans and on land. [BBC]
Seaweed (Paul Levesley, Unsplash)
¶ “Elon Musk Tweets Tesla ‘Trying To Get Probability Of No Injury Above 99.999999% Of Miles For City Driving’ With FSD” • Elon Musk tweeted, “Tesla AI/Autopilot engineering is awesome! Making excellent progress solving real-world AI.” He made clear that the May target for Full Self-Driving cars is aspirational. But it’s coming. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Changes In India’s Monsoon Rainfall Could Bring Serious Consequences To Over A Billion People” • Global warming is increasing the variability of India’s monsoons faster than had been projected, a study shows. One key point of the analysis is that for every one degree Celsius of global warming, monsoon rainfalls will likely increase by 5%. [CNN]
Planting rice in India (Deepak kumar, Unsplash)
¶ “Shell Submits Energy Transition Plan To Shareholders” • Shell published its Energy Transition Strategy for its shareholders for advisory vote at the company’s AGM. The publication sets out the company’s target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, in step with the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change. It also presented shorter term goals. [reNEWS]
¶ “Uruguay’s Remarkable Shift To Renewables Offers A Blueprint For Energy Progress” • Until 2007, Uruguay was strapped for energy resources that forced it to rely on importing energy from South American neighbors. That has changed. Today, 98% of the country’s electricity is delivered reliably and affordably from renewable sources. [Earth Island Institute]
Wind farm in Uruguay (Photo by Jimmy Baikovicius, Flickr)
¶ “Anglo American Secures 100% Renewables Across South American Operations” • Anglo American says it has delivered on its commitment to source 100% renewable energy for all of its operations in Brazil, Chile and Peru. It has iron ore, nickel, and copper operations in the three countries, and all will be powered renewably by 2022. [International Mining]
¶ “GE Picks Up 300-MW German Onshore Wind Order” • GE Renewable Energy has picked up a 300-MW order from EPH-owned EP New Energies. The 50 6-MW wind turbines will be installed at onshore farms being developed by EP New Energies in Germany, including the 100-MW project Forst-Briesnig 2 in the Federal State of Brandenburg. [reNEWS]
Wind turbine (GE Renewable Energy image)
¶ “Kenney Signs Small-Scale Nuclear Reactor Agreement With Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick” • Alberta Premier Jason Kenney formally signed an MOU with Ontario, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick to support the development of small-scale nuclear power technology. The reactors would have capacities of 200 to 300 MW. [Edmonton Journal] (Not good – GHH )
US:
¶ “Sunrun Brings Home Solar And Batteries To Miami” • Sunrun arrived in Florida in 2017, and since then has made slow headway in that state against pressure from utilities. Now, it has arrived in Miami, and it can deliver its “Brightbox home solar and battery system from as little as zero dollars down and at a consistent, low monthly rate.” [CleanTechnica]
Power through (Image via Sunrun solar loan page)
¶ “The Electric Vehicle Sector Is Surging” • Ben Gorman relates some good news in Axios. Gorman spoke with iSeeCars.com analyst Karl Brauer who announced, “It’s clear EV sales, both in the US and globally, are increasing on a percentage basis faster than traditional internal combustion vehicles.” Sales in the US are still small, however. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “States Leading The Charge On Renewable Energy – 2021 Edition” • The EPA says renewable energy can increase power grid reliability, improve air quality and create more jobs. As Congress prepares to debate President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, SmartAsset looked at data to rank the states that are already leaders. [Yahoo Finance]
Rhode Island (Rusty Watson, Unsplash)
¶ “30 GW US Offshore Wind Target To Support 77,000 Jobs” • Secretary of Energy Jennifer M Granholm joined the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce at the White House to announce a goal to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030. About 77,000 jobs will be created, and the wind farms will generate electricity for over 10 million homes. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Wyoming Sets Aside Money To Sue States, Like Colorado, For Their Renewable Energy Policies” • A bill recently signed into law allocates $1.2 million to the Wyoming governor’s office to bring suits against states with laws and regulations that impede the state’s ability to export coal or force the early closures of coal-fired plants in the state. [The Fort Morgan Times]
Wyoming open pit mine (Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress)
¶ “65,000 Acre Wind Farm Could Transform Rural Community” • In Washington State, a potential wind farm could be making its appearance in the near future. Horse Heaven Hills, a privately owned agricultural area, is just outside of the state’s Tri-Cities area. With 65,000 acreas, and it has plenty of space for a wind farm. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “Facebook Says It Hit Net Zero Emissions Target” • Facebook Inc said the group now uses 100% renewable energy for its data centers and buildings and has reached net-zero emissions by use of carbon offsets. The social media giant is a major buyer of clean energy and said it has contracts for more than 6 GW of wind and solar energy. [Proactive Investors]
Have an entertainingly lively day.
geoharvey 