Opinion:
¶ “The 4D Chess Move Elon Musk And Tesla Just Made” • Under Elon Musk’s leadership, Tesla made a 4D chess move that Solving The Money Problem’s Steven Mark Ryan pointed out no one seems to have noticed. Under a new marketing system, Tesla will only sell its solar panels and roofs with batteries. This move could be disruptive to utilities. [CleanTechnica]
Roof, battery, car, and power by Tesla (Image by Tesla)
¶ “Biden’s Remarkable Success On Climate” • By every standard, President Joe Biden’s climate change summit was a remarkable success. The summit represents a tipping point. The world’s largest economies – the US, Canada, the EU, China, Japan, Korea, India, the UK, and Brazil – are finally aligning around the goal of deep decarbonization. [CNN]
¶ “How Quickly Will Electric School Buses Scale? An Interview With Blue Bird” • Trevor Rudderham, Senior Vice President of Product Planning and Electrification from school bus maker Blue Bird is interviewed and talks about electric school buses, all the ways communities can use them, and how fast the industry is headed towards electrification. [CleanTechnica]
Blue Bird electric bus (Image courtesy of Blue Bird)
World:
¶ “Biden Makes The Economic Case For Fighting Climate Change On Second Day Of Virtual Summit” • President Joe Biden thanked the world leaders who made new commitments to curb emissions. He also said, “Today’s final session is not about the threat that climate change poses, it’s about the opportunity that addressing climate change provides.” [CNN]
¶ “Honda Promises To Make Only Emissions-Free Vehicles In The Future” • In his first press conference as CEO of the Japanese automaker, Toshihiro Mibe said the company “will strive” to sell only battery-electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles by 2040 in the three major markets where it primarily sells cars: North America, China and Japan. [CNN]
Honda e (Photo courtesy of Honda)
¶ “11% Plugin Vehicle Share In China!” • Plugin electric vehicles are a hot item in China right now, and they scored a near-record 211,000 registrations last month. That was a 244% jump from the same month last year, and the second best month ever. In fact the plugin vehicle share reached the two-digit mark for the first time, hitting 11%. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Japan To Tackle Red Tape To Boost Renewable Energy” • Japan plans to cut approval times for wind projects, open up abandoned farmland, boost grid capacity, and do more to reduce red tape that has long impeded efforts to bring more renewable energy into the power mix. With Japan’s new climate goals, these actions will be accelerated. [Japan Today]
Yokohama wind farm (Angaurits, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Geelong Agrees On Need To Fast Track For Renewable Energy” • The Geelong Energy Futures Forum was held in response to proposals to build floating gas terminals in the Geelong area of New South Wales. Attendees at the sold-out forum were unanimous in calling for an urgent transition to renewable energy sources. [Mirage News]
¶ “Bangladesh To Cut Coal Consumption, Shift To Renewable Energy: Minister” • Bangladesh will phase down coal use in the power sector and place greater emphasis on renewable energy as part of the efforts to combat change, said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. He set the goal during US President Joe Biden’s summit on climate change. [bdnews24.com]
Solar powered irrigation (Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “India Closer To Building ‘World’s Biggest’ N-Plant” • French energy group EDF said it had filed a binding offer to supply the engineering studies and equipment to build six, third-generation EPR reactors in Jaitapur, western India. Once finished, the facility would provide 10 GW of electricity, enough for approximately 70 million households. [The News International]
US:
¶ “The Race To 52%: Little Old NJ Leaps Into US Offshore Wind Industry Lead” • New Jersey could be a centerpiece of President Biden’s plans for reducing carbon emissions up to 52% by 2030, not long from now. Shorter version: jobs, jobs, and more jobs. New Jersey has already been setting up manufacturing centers to support offshore wind development. [CleanTechnica]
Offshore wind turbine (Photo courtesy of GE Renewables)
¶ “California Governor Orders Fracking To Be Phased Out” • California will stop issuing new hydraulic fracturing permits by January 2024 as part of an effort to reach carbon-neutrality by 2045. Governor Gavin Newsom directed the state’s Department of Conservation’s Geologic Energy Management to implement rules to end issuance of fracking permits. [CNN]
¶ “Biden Fills Out Science Team With Picks For NOAA, DOE, And Diplomacy” • President Biden is rounding out his science team. The White House announced nominees to lead NOAA, the DOE’s Office of Science, and the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Science Affairs. The nominees need Senate confirmation. [Science]
Have an enjoyably astonishing day.
geoharvey 