Opinion:
¶ “Biden’s Climate Push Promises ‘Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.’ Here’s What That Might Look Like” • In his first address to a joint session of Congress last week, President Joe Biden framed his climate change agenda as a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity. He promised an environmental focus resulting in “jobs, jobs, jobs.” Here are some of those jobs. [CNN]
Turbine Tower No 25 undergoing final testing
(Paul Anderson, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Are Traditional Automakers Still Investing In Gas And Diesel Engines?” • After analysis of legacy car makers, Jim Motovalli at Autoweek reported, “It’s plain that traditional gas and diesel cars – by far the majority of the market now – will have limited to zero shelf life in the near future. A battery-powered Corvette? Why not? We already have a plug-in Mustang.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Paying Australia’s Coal-Fired Power Stations To Stay Open Longer Is Bad For Consumers And The Planet” • In a misguided effort to ensure electricity supplies remain affordable and reliable, Australian governments are considering a move that would effectively pay Australia’s coal-fired power stations to stay open longer. [The Conversation]
Coal-fired power plant (Giorgio Galeotti, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Dangerous Decisions About Advanced Nuclear Reactors Could Lead To New Threats” • The US DOE’s new Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program is slipping by without close oversight from the Congress. This is unfortunate because there are some serious questions that should be answered, including ones related to national security. [The National Interest]
World:
¶ “How Calls For Climate Justice Are Shaking The World” • Young activists are breathing new life into the debate over climate justice – the framing of global warming as an ethical issue rather than a purely environmental one. The activists see the environmental transition needed for climate change as necessarily having a societal element. [BBC]
Children (Mohit Tomar, Unsplash)
¶ “Climate Change Could Cause Almost 132 Million People To Be In Extreme Poverty By 2030” • The World Bank estimates that climate change will cause as many as 132 million people to be in extreme poverty by 2030. For those who can’t visualize what this means, the organization defined extreme poverty, as “Living on $1.90 per day.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “France April Plugin Vehicle Registrations Hit 14.8% Share – Up 2× Year On Year” • France, Europe’s second largest auto market, saw 14.8% plugin electric vehicle share in April 2021, up 2× from 7.8% share in April 2020. Overall auto volumes were still subdued, down 25% from pre-COVID seasonal averages, with the weakness continuing from the first quarter. [CleanTechnica]
Peugeot e-208 (Image courtesy of Peugeot)
¶ “New Record Low For Renewable Energy Prices In South Australia” • The Australian Energy Market Operator reported record low daytime wholesale prices for the first three months of the year. Renewables drove power prices into negative territory many time, which bumped South Australia’s average quarterly price down by $10/MWh. [Energy Matters]
¶ “RWE Wins Rights To German Solar Plus Storage Project” • RWE has secured the rights in Germany’s innovation tender to build a solar farm combined with energy storage on the western edge of the Tagebau Inden open-cast mine. The solar system will have a capacity of 14.4 MW connected to a battery storage system storing 9.6 MWh. [reNEWS]
Solar system (RWE image)
¶ “Western Australian Households Installed A Record Amount Of Solar Power In 2020” • Around 300 MW in solar capacity was added to homes of Western Australia in 2020, much more than the project 200 MW the state was expecting. This addition was close to an annual record and lifts the state’s renewable energy total to 1.3 GW. [Energy Matters]
¶ “EDF Starts Construction On Irish PV Trio” • EDF Renewables Ireland is to start building three solar farms in counties Wexford and Kilkenny this month with a combined capacity of 17 MW. The 4-MW Curraghmartin project is at Carrigeen in Kilkenny, and the 5-MW Coolroe at Ballycullane and 8-MW Blusheens at Killinick are both in Wexford. [reNEWS]
Solar array (EDF image)
¶ “ENGIE To Develop 2-GW Renewable Energy Portfolio In Chile” • ENGIE will develop a 2-GW renewable energy portfolio in Chile. It includes an additional 1 GW capacity since the last announcement in 2019. The program is part of the company’s transformation plan to end its coal-fired power generation in the country by 2025. [Mercom India]
US:
¶ “Renewable Natural Gas Emerging As Serious Decarbonized Gas Contender” • When Dominion Energy and Smithfield Foods completed a novel renewable natural gas facility in Utah, it was just the first of four projects Align Renewable Natural Gas is building. Other such projects are moving ahead, suggesting that RNG is gaining ground. [POWER Magazine]
RNG facility (Align Renewable Natural Gas image)
¶ “Wyoming Creates $1.2 Million Fund To Protect Coal Industry By Suing Other States” • Most states are boosting renewables, but Wyoming is doing the opposite with a new program aimed at propping up the dwindling coal industry. It threatens to sue if states block exports of Wyoming coal or cause its coal-fired power plants to shut down. [Oregon Live]
¶ “Tucson Electric Turns On Its Biggest Renewable-Energy Plants To Date” • Over the weekend Tucson Electric Power Co planned to turn on its biggest solar generating resource, the 100-MW Wilmot Energy Center, with a 30-MW battery. The utility is also about to switch on the 250-MW Oso Grande Wind Project in New Mexico. [Arizona Daily Star]
Have an uncommonly amusing day.
geoharvey 
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