Opinion:
¶ “Rooftop Solar Power Comes With Huge “Soft” Benefit Over Utility-Scale Power – Oodles Of Jobs!” • Any policymaker should love creating jobs, and as John Farrell pointed out, rooftop solar power creates nearly 30 times more jobs than utility-scale solar power for the same money. That could be hundreds of thousands of more jobs in a region. [CleanTechnica]
Rooftop solar installer (Kate Costa, US DOE)
¶ “Small Cargo EVs For Cities Could Be A Game Changer” • When I ordered some groceries from a local supermarket, a very big lorry arrived to drop them off. I was surprised to see that my groceries were all that was in the back of that huge lorry. That is inefficient, to say the least. Small autonomous electric cargo vans could be a game changer. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “UK Developer Toasts 40-MW Ukraine Wind” • UK-based Elementum Energy has started commercial operations at the 40-MW Dnistrovska 1 wind farm in Ukraine. The project, which features 10 GE 137-4.0MW turbines on 131-meter towers, achieved mechanical completion in December 2020 and has now entered into production. [reNEWS]
Wind turbine (Elementum Energy image)
¶ “Volkswagen ID.4 Is Mopping Up In Europe – April Sales Chart” • The Volkswagen ID.3 seems like it just hit the market, but the attention has already shifted to the Volkswagen ID.4, and that’s because the ID.4 is mopping up in Europe. We might also note that it the ID.4 is the only fully electric Volkswagen available in the USA. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “China Leads In Renewable Energy Capacity At 895 GW” • The world’s total installed renewable energy amounted to almost 2,800 GW in 2020. China has an installed renewable energy capacity of 895 GW, the Warsaw Business Journal reports citing data by TradingPlatforms.com. The next on the list is the US with a distant 292 GW. [Budapest Business Journal]
Wind turbines (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)
¶ “Australia’s First Regional Renewable Hydrogen Plant” • Work has begun on Australia’s first community hydrogen power plant, providing an alternative to the use of diesel in Denham, a town in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region. Horizon Power is to install a 704-kW solar farm, 348-kW hydrogen electrolyzer and a 100-kW fuel cell there. [Media Statements]
¶ “Developers Advance 200-MW Korean Floater” • The developers of the 200-MW Donghae 1 floating offshore wind farm off South Korea, Korea National Oil Corporation, Korea East-West Power and Equinor, said the proposed project off Ulsan passed the preliminary feasibility study conducted by the Korea Development Institute. [reNEWS]
Offshore wind turbines (Equinor image)
¶ “EDF Renewables Starts Up 344-MW Brazil Wind” • EDF Renewables has begun operations at the 344-MW Folha Larga Norte wind farm complex in Brazil. The Folha Larga Norte wind farm consists of 82 wind turbines and is in the state of Bahia. There were 800 people, mostly local labor, involved in the wind farm’s construction. [reNEWS]
US:
¶ “Energy Production In USA Fell By More Than 5% In 2020” • In 2020, energy production in the US fell to just below 96 quads, down more than 5% from 2019’s record high, according to EIA’s Monthly Energy Review. In absolute terms, the drop that took place in 2020 marked the largest annual decrease in US energy production on record. [CleanTechnica]
US Energy production (US Energy Information Administration)
¶ “US Interior Department Takes Steps To Revoke Final Rule On Migratory Bird Treaty Act Incidental Take” • The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposed rule to revoke the final regulation of January 7, 2021, which limited the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. That regulation was challenged in court and opposed by treaty partners. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Wisk Aero And Blade Urban Air Mobility Join Forces To Make Electric Air Taxis A Reality” • In a further step towards making electric air taxis a reality, eVTOL startup Wisk Aero, which is backed by both Boeing and Kitty Hawk, formed a partnership with Blade Urban Air Mobility to send a fleet of 30 eVTOLs up into the air. [CleanTechnica]
Wisk Aero eVTOL (Image courtesy of Wisk Aero)
¶ “Reports: Tesla Has Already Sold Out Of Vehicles In Q2 2021” • There are reports that Tesla has already sold out of vehicles for the second quarter of 2021. The reports say Tesla informed its employees that production capacity for the second quarter is already sold out even though we still have two months left. So much for that “no demand” myth. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Vermont Electric Plans For Carbon Neutrality By 2023, 100% Renewable Energy By 2030” • Vermont Electric Cooperative plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2023 and transition fully to renewable energy sources by 2030, it announced last month. Member enthusiasm and state climate goals were cited as reasons for change. [The Middlebury Campus]
Vermont Electric Cooperative (Courtesy photo)
¶ “Senate Passes Natural Gas Innovation Act To Increase Renewable Energy Resources” • In Minnesota, the Natural Gas Innovation Act passed in the Senate with bipartisan support, 53-14. It establishes a regulatory framework for the state’s natural gas utilities to provide customers with access to renewable energy resources. [Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus]
¶ “Crossing Trails Wind Farm Achieves Commercial Operation” • Commercial operations have commenced at EDP Renewables North America’s 104-MW Crossing Trails Wind Farm. The new wind farm is 20 miles south of Seibert, Colorado, in Kit Carson and Cheyenne counties, in the service area of a Tri-State co-op member. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Have an enthusiastically appreciated day.
geoharvey 
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