Science and Technology:
¶ “Rising From The Ashes, Alaska’s Forests Come Back Stronger” • Michelle Mack, an ecologist at Northern Arizona University, did a study of regrowth in Alaskan forest that burned in 2004. It was published in the journal Science, and was unexpectedly hopeful. The burned boreal forests are on track to hold a lot more carbon than they did before the fires. [Grist]
Alaska (McKayla Crump, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Bolsonaro Asks For Biden’s ‘Personal Engagement’ To Fight Amazon Deforestation” • Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro called for Joe Biden’s “personal engagement” in fighting deforestation in the Amazon rain forest, in a letter sent to the US President. He asked for support of the US government, its private sector, and American civil society. [CNN]
¶ “Tesla Model 3 Is #1 In France!” • In a red hot market in which fully electric vehicles jumped 183% year over year and plugin hybrids shot up 6-fold in March, plugin sales had their second best month ever in France. In total, 29,737 plugin vehicles were registered, allowing the plugin share to reach 16% last month. And Tesla was number 1. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model 3 (Image courtesy of Tesla)
¶ “Peruvian Government Turns To Renewable Power As It Seeks To Reduce GHG Emission, Says GlobalData” • The Government of Peru plans to push growth of renewables, especially onshore wind power, to reduce its dependence on hydropower and cut GHG emissions. GlobalData expects Peru to reach 3.91 GW of renewable capacity by 2030. [MarketScreener]
¶ “Ørsted Makes European Onshore Move” • Ørsted has entered the European onshore market with an agreement to acquire a 100% equity interest in Brookfield Renewable’s existing Ireland and UK onshore wind business. The agreement to purchase Brookfield Renewable Ireland is based on an enterprise valuation €571 million as of 31 December 2020. [reNEWS]
Irish wind farm (Brookfield Renewable Ireland image)
¶ “CEO Of Poland’s PGE Says Coal Clearly Has To End As Power Source” • Coal has obviously to be scrapped as a power source, according to Wojciech Dabrowski, the CEO of the Polish group which owns the EU’s biggest carbon-emitting power plant. The statement underscores a policy shift in a country that has felt wedded to coal. [ETEnergyworld]
¶ “Energy Transition Through The Eyes Of Solo Atlantic Voyager Zirk Botha” • “It is possible to meet all energy and water needs in a completely sustainable and renewable way.” This was what Zirk Botha had to say after finishing a grueling 72 days’ transatlantic solo rowing voyage from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro to raise awareness of climate change. [ESI Africa]
Zirk Botha (Image supplied by juwi South Africa)
¶ “Is Renewable Energy Mining’s New Normal?” • Adopting renewable energy as a hybrid or even primary energy source is rapidly becoming a widely accepted solution for the African mining sector. In fact, it is fast emerging as another new normal. And there are numerous projects in implementation phase to prove this. [Mining Review Africa]
¶ “US Renews Call For All Nations To Raise Climate Ambitions” • The US is renewing a call for all nations including the US and China to raise ambitions on carbon neutrality, as officials from the world’s two largest emitters held talks in Shanghai. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is consulting with his Chinese counterparts this week. [Voice of America]
Glacier (Karsten Würth, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “You Can Now Buy An Electric Ambulance” • Electric police cars have popped up from time to time for years, as have electric taxis. However, an electric ambulance is a truly rare bird. REV Group, Inc and Lightning eMotors announced that they have partnered to change that. They will start electric ambulance deliveries by the end of 2021. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “JPMorgan Is Deploying $2.5 Trillion To Fight The Climate Crisis And Inequality” • JPMorgan Chase announced that it aims to finance or facilitate investments of $2.5 trillion over 10 years to support solutions that address climate change and contribute to sustainable development. The target includes $1 trillion for green initiatives, such as renewable energy. [CNN]
Scientist at NREL (Science in HD, Unsplash)
¶ “Indiana Bill On Renewable Energy Standards Dies After Pushback” • Efforts to send a message that Indiana is open for business to renewables have come to an abrupt stop. A bill to set some statewide standards for wind and solar projects, amended to grandfather in counties’ more restrictive ordinances, died on the Senate floor. [Courier & Press]
¶ “2.1 MW Of New Solar Now Operating in Boulder” • The City of Boulder, Colorado, in a unique partnership with Unico Solar and Madison Energy Investments, is now home to 2.1 MW of rooftop and ground-installed solar, marking the completion of the city’s Generation Solar project. Solar was installed on eleven city-owned sites. [City of Boulder, Colorado]
Boulder, Colorado
¶ “Campbell Applauds Start Of Largest Renewable Power Project In Louisiana History” • The transition to renewable energy for Louisiana electric customers leaped forward with the start-up of a large wind farm in Oklahoma. Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell said wind energy will save Louisiana customers $1 billion over 30 years. [Bossier Press-Tribune]
¶ “Iron Mountain Provides Renewable Energy In Pennsylvania And New Jersey, And Signs 6-MW Expansion In Phoenix ” • Data storage and co-location firm Iron Mountain signed deals for 6 MW more in its Phoenix data center, and announced it will buy renewable energy to match consumption at its Pennsylvania and New Jersey data centers. [Data Center Dynamics]
Have a providentially carefree day.
geoharvey 
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