Opinion:
¶ “Secretary Granholm Shows The Joe Biden Administration Is Focused On Electric Vehicle Matters That Matter” • Secretary Jennifer Granholm gets it. She went on a great rant about this in a recent MSNBC interview. She also touched on other cleantech and energy matters that are of critical importance. You can watch her in a video. [CleanTechnica]
Secretary Granholm (MSNBC via YouTube screenshot)
¶ “Man Who Predicted The Worst Nuclear Disaster Since Chernobyl Sees Another Coming” • “There is a very strong possibility that there will be another nuclear disaster in Japan, and the company running the biggest nuclear plant here cannot be trusted,” said a nuclear engineer who predicted Japan’s 2011 nuclear disaster. [Daily Beast]
¶ “How BlackRock And Vanguard Can Advance The Net-Zero Emissions Movement” • The movement towards net-zero GHG emissions, is gaining traction, especially in finance. But to avoid the worst impacts of global warming, every organization in the field must have robust plans for shifting investment portfolios to net-zero by 2050 or sooner. [CleanTechnica]
Wall Street (Photo by Josh jfisher on Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Oil Company Ads Should Carry A Climate Health Warning, Say Activists” • Environmental law non-profit ClientEarth has published research accusing some of the world’s biggest oil firms of misrepresenting their role in the climate crisis and the speed at which they are moving to clean energy. It wants oil company ads to have “tobacco-style health warnings.” [CNN]
¶ “Zero-Emission Trucks: Industry And Environmentalists Call For Binding Targets For Infrastructure” • In the EU, truck makers and environmentalists have joined forces, pushing to deploy of 11,000 charging points for electric trucks by 2025 and 42,000 by 2030. Two of them made a call to the European Commission in a joint letter last week. [CleanTechnica]
Electric truck (Image courtesy of Volta)
¶ “Coal Financing Costs Surge As Investors Opt For Renewable Energy” • Coal financing costs have surged over the last decade as investors demand returns four times as high as the payoff required from renewable energy projects to justify the risk of investing in fossil fuels, as the world moves towards cleaner energy sources. [The Guardian]
¶ “UK Developer Reveals 33-MW Solar Plans” • UK company Lightrock Power has revealed plans for a 33-MW solar farm in England. The proposed Whinfield development could provide enough electricity to power the equivalent of 9900 homes. Plans include installing bird and bat boxes planting seeds for local flora to attract bees and other insects. [reNEWS]
Solar array (Gabriel, Unsplash)
¶ “Uzbekistan Signs Wind Energy Alliance With Siemens” • The Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Siemens Energy to work together on power generation, including in wind. The MOU envisions cooperation going beyond new generating facilities to include hydrogen energy and training of personnel. [reNEWS]
¶ “CIP Closes €7 Billion Renewables Fund” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has reached final close on its global greenfield renewables energy fund Copenhagen Infrastructure IV, securing €7 billion in investments. CIP said the fund was oversubscribed, with the target size of €5.5 billion achieved already in December 2020. [reNEWS]
Wind turbines (Cameron Venti, Unsplash)
¶ “NSW Coal Region Councils Join Forces For Huge Renewable Energy Mandate” • A group of local councils from the Upper Hunter region of New South Wales has joined forces to procure up to 200 GWh a year of renewable electricity supply for their combined operations. The region has strong ties to the coal industry. [Renew Economy]
¶ “Experts Predict Wind Costs Will Tumble” • Technology and commercial advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, a survey indicated. The study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory of 140 global wind power experts found cost reductions of 17%-35% by 2035 and 37%-49% by 2050 are on the cards. [reNEWS]
Wind turbine (Eon image)
¶ “LG Energy Solution Commits To 100% Renewable Electricity” • South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution has announced it has joined the RE100. RE100 is an international campaign that was started by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP back in 2014 to encourage big companies to commit to 100% renewables-based electricity. [SolarQuotes]
US:
¶ “Ford Mustang Mach-E Tech And Cargo Space (Versus Tesla Model Y)” • With the coming of Ford Mustang Day, Zach Shahan at CleanTechnica finally got through video editing of some of the Ford Mustang Mach-E footage he took in February near his home in Florida. It shows off the car, and it compares it to the Tesla Model Y. [CleanTechnica]
Ford Mustang Mach-E (Zach Shahan,
CleanTechnica, via YouTube screenshot)
¶ “Consensus Appears To Be Taking Root In Corporate America: What’s Good For The Environment Can Be Good For Business.” • Ahead of Earth Day and Biden’s climate summit, corporations have increased sustainability drives and made trillion-dollar climate pledges. CNN Business has the news from Corporate America’s environmental enlightenment. [CNN]
¶ “State Land Commissioner Says The Office Is Nearing Her Goal For Renewable Energy Development” • When Stephanie Garcia Richard took the office of State Land Commissioner in New Mexico after the 2018 elections, her goal was to tripple renewable energy development on state lands. Two years later, the goal is nearly reached. [The NM Political Report]
Have a profoundly blithesome day.
geoharvey 