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Opinion: 

¶ “Is Tesla Becoming A Threat To The World’s Biggest Utilities?” • The electric utility industry is on the verge of a revolution. The traditional utility model, in which energy is generated by a small number of enormous central power plants, is already as outdated as cars that burn fossil fuels. Tesla and Octopus Energy Germany are offering a new approach. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla solar, Tesla batteries (Tesla image)

¶ “Millions Suffering From Fuel Anxiety In UK – If Only They Could Charge Up At Home” • According to the Washington Post, due to Covid-19, Britain is about 100,000 truck drivers short. As a result, BP closed 30% of its filling stations. That led to panic buying and queues at stations. It could have been avoided by a faster switch to EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Citroen Skate Autonomous Platform Breaks All The Rules” • To say French automobile design has always been quirky is being kind. Other words that could be used to describe it might be odd, weird, and exotic. The Citroen Skate EV platform is designed to accept a variety of body styles. And it is intended to make new rules of its own. [CleanTechnica]

Citroen EV concept (Citroen image)

World:

¶ “Australia’s Scott Morrison Under Climate Pressure At Home As Biggest State Boosts Targets” • Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing calls at home to increase commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, announced goals nearly twice as ambitious as his government’s. [CNN]

¶ “South Australia Hasn’t Lost One Hour Of Electricity In 5 Years Thanks To Renewables And Batteries” • Renew Economy says that since 2018 South Australia hasn’t lost one hour of electricity due to load shedding. In the previous four years, 7 million customer hours of electricity were shed. The improvement resulted from more renewable energy and storage. [CleanTechnica]

Wind farm in South Australia (HikerJules, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Insurance Companies Getting Very Concerned About Climate Change” • Record-breaking climate disasters will be the name of the game this century. Some of us may block that from their view, but the insurance industry doesn’t have that luxury. With climate change, the insurance industry has to build models that predict the unpredictable. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ørsted Submits 1.5-GW Swedish Offshore EIA” • Ørsted has submitted a report to Swedish authorities for the environmental impact assessment for the Skåne offshore wind farm off southern Sweden. It will have a capacity of up to 1.5 GW, and the report outlines the project’s impact on the environment and the efforts Ørsted will take to deal with them. [reNews]

Offshore wind farm (Ørsted image)

¶ “More Renewables Best Answer To Energy Price Surge, Brussels Insists” • A faster rollout of renewable energies such as wind and solar is the best response to recent spikes in gas and power prices, according to an EU official. “The solution, in the longer run, is the accelerated deployment of renewables and improved energy efficiency,” he said. [EURACTIV.com]

¶ “One Of The World’s Largest Clean Energy Projects Closer To Becoming Reality” • Multinational Sun Cable is one step closer to developing its massive Australia-Asia PowerLink project, which will deliver up to 3.2 GW of dispatchable clean energy from Australia to Singapore. Indonesia has recommended the route for the transmission cable. [Mining.com]

Solar array (Image courtesy of Sun Cable)

¶ “UK Energy Titan SSE Says Low Wind, Driest Conditions In 70 Years Hit Renewable Generation” • Recent low wind output has contributed to the European energy crunch. Energy giant SSE said its renewable assets produced 32% less power than expected between April 1 and September 22 thanks to historically dry and low-wind conditions. [CNBC]

¶ “Renewables vs Nuclear: 256-0” • The World Nuclear Industry Status Report shows the world’s operational nuclear capacity grew by just 0.4 GW in 2020, and generation fell 4%. Renewables grew by 256 GW and production rose by 13%. “Nuclear power is irrelevant in today’s electricity capacity market,” the report’s main author said. [pv magazine India]

Nuclear power plant (Viktor Kiryanov, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Ivory-Billed Woodpecker And More Than 20 Other Species Declared Extinct By US Government” • The US government rang the death knell for 23 species of birds, fish and other wildlife. The US Fish and Wildlife Service officially declared the ivory-billed woodpecker extinct after years of unconfirmed sightings and fruitless searches in the South. [NBC News]

¶ “NREL Pinpoints Way To Move Large Wind Turbine Blades Across USA” • Researchers at the US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have determined how to transport massive wind turbine blades to parts of the country at a lower cost than segmented blades, but the solution will require some flexibility on the part of industry. [CleanTechnica]

Wind farm with a solar array (Thomas Galler, Unsplash)

¶ “Florida Republicans Reject Cities’ Efforts To Convert Gas Stations” • Florida legislators aren’t really keen to embrace the transition away from fossil fuels. In fact, Florida legislation now forbids cities from requiring gas stations to add electric vehicle charging stations. Gas stations would be ideal sites for charging. But not in Florida. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wind, Solar Power Help Grow US Renewable Energy Use” • Led by wind power production and the increasing growth of solar, use of renewable energy in the US hit all-time highs in the first half of 2021, according to data published by the Energy Information Administration. Fossil fuels are still the dominant US source. [Environment + Energy Leader]

Have a peachy keen day.

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World:

¶ “The Energy Crunch Is Roiling Markets” • Global markets are stumbling as energy prices soar. One big problem has been shortages of natural gas, triggered by low stocks and a jump in demand as activity recovers from its Covid-19 lull. In the US, natural gas futures have also jumped, and China is contending with a worsening energy situation. [CNN]

Chinese Candu nuclear power plant (AECL, public domain)

¶ “Greta Thunberg Roasts World Leaders For Being ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ On Climate Action” • Swedish activist Greta Thunberg mocked world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and the UK’s Boris Johnson, at a youth climate summit in Milan on Tuesday, saying the last 30 years of climate action had amounted to “blah, blah, blah.” [CNN]

¶ “Most Trapped Canadian Miners Rescued After Two Days” • Thirty-five miners trapped deep underground in eastern Canada have been brought to the surface, two days after the mine’s lift was damaged by an accident. The workers at the Totten mine in Sudbury, Ontario, climbed about 4,000 ft (1.2 km) on a series of ladders, with the help of a rescue team. [BBC]

Totten mine in Sudbudy, Ontario (Vale image)

¶ “Petrol Supply: Army Gets Ready To Assist As Pm Reassures Drivers” • The UK’s Army could begin delivering fuel by the end of the week, as Boris Johnson reassures drivers about supplies. Mr Johnson said the fuel situation was “improving” and people should be “confident” to go about their business, after days of queues and pump closures. [BBC]

¶ “SAIC, GM, And Wuling To Release A Remix Of The Smash Hit Mini EV” • China’s top selling EV is getting a remix! The Wuling HongGuang Mini EV’s upgrade has a slightly longer wheelbase, a 26 kWh battery, up from the 9.2 kWh and 13.8 kWh in current models. The new version of the popular EV will sell at a barely higher price, about $5,500. [CleanTechnica]

Wuling Mini EV

¶ “Europe’s 5 Biggest Airports Emit More CO₂ Than Sweden” • An online airport tracker created by the International Council on Clean Transportation, ODI, and Transport and Environment has shown how much CO₂ is released from planes leaving airports. Europe’s five biggest airports combine to emit more CO₂ than Sweden, almost entirely untaxed. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “TotalEnergies, GIG Team Unveils 2-GW ScotWind Bid” • A consortium of TotalEnergies, Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, and Scottish developer RIDG announced a 2-GW bid in the ScotWind leasing round for an offshore wind farm west of the Orkney Islands. The West of Orkney Windfarm could power 2 million homes. [reNEWS]

Scrabster Harbour (West of Orkney Windfarm image)

¶ “Spain Taxes Renewables, Nuclear Power Producers” • Spain has introduced a charge on the production of renewable energy to mitigate the impact of soaring electricity and gas prices on consumers. A similar levy for nuclear and hydropower plants is in the pipeline. The tax will be paid if the price of gas is higher than €20/MWh. [Balkan Green Energy News] (What?! – ghh)

¶ “IEA Chief: Don’t Blame Renewables For Europe’s Energy Crunch” • The energy squeeze in Europe has nothing to do with the continent’s energy transition plans, Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, told the European Parliament’s energy and environment committees. He took the opportunity to point a finger at Russia. [Oil Price]

Walney Offshore Windfarm (David Dixon, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “NSW Plans To Transition Biggest Coal State Into Renewable Energy Superpower” • The New South Wales government greatly increased its emissions reduction targets for 2030, setting a new goal of a 50% cut from 2005 levels. It seeks to make the state a “renewable energy superpower” and attract over $37 billion in clean energy investment. [Renew Economy]

US:

¶ “Democrats Say A Civilian Climate Corps Will Create Jobs” • When he met with governors this summer from Western states suffering the effects of wildfires and drought, President Joe Biden highlighted one way to tackle the climate crisis that goes beyond increasing federal funding for aerial firefighting and better forest management: a Civilian Climate Corps. [CNN]

Fire road built by the CCC in the 1930s (Mfwills, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “US DOE Signs Up Over 125 Local Governments to Fast-Track Solar Permits” • The DOE announced it has achieved its summer goal of having at least 125 communities signed up for the Solar Automated Permit Processing tool. It is a free web-based tool that allows local governments to instantly approve residential solar installation permits. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Home Heating Sticker Shock: The Cost Of Natural Gas Is Up 180%” • Prices for natural gas, the most common way to heat homes and a leading fuel source for generating electricity, have surged more than 180% over the past 12 months to $5.90 per million British thermal units. Natural gas has not been this expensive since February 2014. [CNN]

Pipeline odorant injection station (Glen Dillon, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “BLM Lease Sale Seeks To Expand Geothermal Energy In New Mexico” • As part of an effort to increase renewable energy, the Bureau of Land Management will hold a virtual geothermal lease sale this fall for three parcels totaling nearly 4,000 acres. These parcels are located in Hidalgo and Sierra counties in southwest New Mexico. [The NM Political Report]

¶ “US Renewable Energy Production Hits An All-Time High As Nuclear Power And Fossil Fuels Decline” • Domestic production of renewable energy reached an all-time high in the first six months of 2021 despite a sharp drop in hydropower, according to a SUN DAY Campaign analysis of new data released by the US Energy Information Administration. [pvbuzz.com]

Have a comprehensively joyful day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “When It Comes To Cutting Carbon Emissions, The Real Estate Industry Is Running Out Of Time” • For those in the real estate sector, concern about the climate always seemed to be less about the cause and more about events that put property portfolios at risk. Many in the industry have yet to admit that buildings are as responsible for carbon as cars. [CNN]

Air pollution (Photoholgic, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “LNG Trucks as Bad for the Climate as Diesel, On-Road Tests Find” • Trucks powered by liquified natural gas are no better for the climate than conventional diesel trucks, new independent tests indicate. Transport & Environment, which commissioned the on-road tests, said only zero-emissions trucks should be given support by lawmakers. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Climate Change Will Bring More Transportation Problems – Unitsky String Technologies Has A Solution” • Storms, floods, ice, snow, and strong winds make travel hazardous. Unfortunately, climate change increases weather-related disruptions. Unitsky String Technologies has a solution to many of the transportation problems related to weather. [CleanTechnica]

Models of string transport (Unitsky String Technologies image)

World:

¶ “Car Industry Dirty Tricks Seek to Derail Tough EU Emissions Standards” • The European car industry is using aggressive lobbying and making unsubstantiated claims in an attempt to derail EU plans to cut pollution from road transport, according to a briefing paper published last week by the campaign group Transport & Environment. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Goldman Sachs Cuts China Growth Forecast Over Power Outages” • Goldman Sachs cut its growth forecast for China, as the country struggles with energy shortages. It expects China’s economy to expand by 7.8% this year, down from its previous 8.2%. Environmental controls, supply constraints, and soaring prices caused the power shortages. [BBC]

Transmission pylons (mayanming, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “UK Government Supports JDR North-East Expansion” • Offshore wind cabling manufacturer JDR Cable Systems is to receive funding from the UK government, securing 440 jobs in the north-east of England. JDR will open a new subsea cable manufacturing facility in Northumberland. The initial project investment is estimated at £130 million. [reNEWS]

¶ “Plugin Vehicles Hit 22% Market Share In Europe In August!” • The European passenger plugin vehicle market is staying in the fast lane. More than 155,000 plugin vehicles were registered in August, an increase of 60% year over year. This performance is even more impressive when we consider that the overall auto market is in the doldrums. [CleanTechnica]

Car charging (Charlotte Stowe, Unsplash)

¶ “Quinbrook To Build The UK’s Largest Consented Solar Plus Battery Storage Project” • Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, a global investment manager focused exclusively on renewables, storage, and grid support infrastructure investment, said it has acquired a 350-MW solar plus battery storage project in Kent. Construction will begin in 2022. [Yahoo Finance]

¶ “General Electric May Sell Nuclear Turbines Business To EDF For $1.2 Billion, Reports Say” • GE is talking with EDF Energy, a French company, about the latter possibly acquiring its nuclear turbine business, the two companies have confirmed. EDF is building or developing plans to build several nuclear power plants in the UK. [Power Engineering]

Hinkley Point C Nuclear Project (EDF image)

US:

¶ “California Governor Signs Renewable Energy Bills” • At the site of the KNP Complex in Sequoia National Park, Governor Gavin Newsom has highlighted the California Comeback Plan’s over $15 billion climate package – the largest such investment in state history – tackling a wide array of climate impacts facing the state. [North American Windpower]

¶ “Ford Announces $11.4 Billion Investment In Electric Vehicle Plants” • Ford announced a major investment in EV production in the US. It said will to build its biggest ever plant in Tennessee, and two battery parks in Kentucky. The $11.4 billion (£8.3 billion) plan is to build zero-emission cars and pickups “at scale” for US customers. It will create 11,000 jobs. [BBC]

Ford Mustang Mach-E (MrWalkr, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Rikers Island Could Become Renewable Energy Hub” • New York’s notorious jail on Rikers Island is expected to close by 2027. And the site could next be used to produce clean energy. New York’s city council has passed legislation calling for research on the potential for solar arrays, wind turbines, and battery storage on Rikers. [Yale Climate Connections]

¶ “More Renewable Energy, Less Energy Efficiency In New Northwest Power Plan” • More renewable energy development and less emphasis on energy conservation are two of the biggest changes in the draft of the Northwest Power Plan, guides the Bonneville Power Administration’s electricity demand decisions over the next 20 years. [OPB]

Big Eddy-Knight transmission line (Bonneville Power, Flickr, N3)

¶ “DuPont Joins RE100 Global Initiative To Use 100% Renewable Energy” • DuPont announced that it has joined RE100, a global environmental initiative led by the Climate Group in partnership with CDP, which brings together companies committed to shifting the electricity used globally in its operations to 100% renewable energy. [Printed Electronics Now]

¶ “The City Of Los Angeles Is To Spend $30 Million On Solar Generation And Storage” • As Los Angeles pursues its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2035, city officials announced a $30 million investment, allocated in the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, in a municipal solar and storage program using its own buildings across departments. [Los Angeles Daily News]

Have an uncomplicatedly productive day.

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World:

¶ “Vanuatu Will Seek International Court Of Justice Opinion On Climate Protection” • The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu wants the International Court of Justice to weigh in on the rights of the nation’s current and future residents to protection from climate change. Vanuatu is the home of nearly 250,000 residents, all threatened by the climate crisis. [CNN]

As close as Vanuatu gets to a motel (Monika MG, Unsplash)

¶ “Record Month For Plugin Vehicles In China! Wuling EV #1 In Overall Auto Market!” • Plugin vehicles are all the rage in China, having scored 286,000 registrations in August, a full 22% increase over the previous record, which was set in June when 235,000 registrations were made. In August, EVs accounted for 19% of the overall auto market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Geely Geometry EX3 Electric SUV Priced Below $10,000” • Geely is the Chinese owner of Volvo Cars. In China, its domestic brand is called Geometry. This week, it introduced the EX3, an electric SUV with a range of 322 km NEDC (a nominal range of 200 miles), room for 5, and a price of ¥59,700. Listen up, people: that equates to €7,900 or $9,200. [CleanTechnica]

Geely Geometry EX3 (Geely image)

¶ “Kenya Takes Leap Of Faith In Renewable Power” • Kenya has updated its climate emissions goals. It aims to abate greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent by 2030 relative to the Business as Usual scenario. Kenya already has the largest wind farm on the continent and is among the world leaders in the exploitation of geothermal energy. [allAfrica.com]

¶ “Bord Na Mona Eyes 200-MW Hybrid Park In Irish Midlands” • Bord na Mona has unveiled plans for a hybrid energy park in the Irish midlands. The developer wants to build a wind farm, solar array, energy storage, and green hydrogen facility, with a capacity of at least 200 MW, on 3000 hectares of land in Meath, Offaly, and Westmeath. [reNEWS]

Wren and turbines (Bord na Mona image)

¶ “IAEA: Violating Deal, Iran Denies Access To Site It Says Was Sabotaged By Israel” • According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Iran denied access to UN nuclear inspectors who were seeking to visit the Karaj centrifuge assembly site on Sunday, several months after a sabotage incident at the facility, which Tehran blamed on Israel. [The Times of Israel]

Australia:

¶ “Australia PM Undecided On Attending Crucial Climate Summit” • Australia’s prime minister has signalled he may not attend the UN’s landmark climate conference in November as his government faces continued criticism of its poor climate record. His government is staunchly protective of the country’s fossil fuel industry. [BBC]

Eraring power station in NSW (Nick Pitsas, CSIRO, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Wineries And Breweries In Australia Offering Electrons From Sunshine” • Made by sunshine, drunk in sunshine, some wineries are going greener in Australia. And not just a few small wineries, it is a number of big ones. Beer is being brewed by companies with large solar arrays, also. Prime Minister Morrison might do well to notice. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Australian Hydrogen Council Calls For Net Zero Fund” • In its inaugural white paper, Unlocking Australia’s Hydrogen Opportunity, the Australian Hydrogen Council charts the path to net-zero emissions with hydrogen industry help. Dr Fiona Simon, CEO of the Australian Hydrogen Council, called for a net-zero fund that would start at $10 billion. [Energy Magazine]

Australian wind turbine (Stephen Edmonds, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Island Energy Transitions Set Path For New Funding Of Renewable Microgrids” • Regional renewable energy microgrid projects can now apply for funding as the Australian Renewable Energy Agency launches a new $50 million program to improve the resilience and reliability of electricity supply in remote parts of the country. [Renew Economy]

US:

¶ “Climate Change Is Intensifying The US Border Crisis. It Will Only Get Worse” • The border crisis shows how natural disasters can push people to leave their homes, even at the risk their lives. Research has shown that climate migration will become more likely as the planet warms and people seek places they consider safer and more economically stable. [CNN]

Border fence (Steve Hillebrand, US FWS, public domain)

¶ “Ohio Lawmakers Line Up To Repeal Subsidy For Coal Plants” • Some lawmakers in the Ohio Legislature want to end a subsidy for two unprofitable Cold War-era coal plants that have cost state electric customers more than $340 million thus far and leave them on the hook for hundreds of millions more, thanks to a tainted energy bill. [Spectrum News]

¶ “Rivian Is No Tesla. That’s Exactly What These Buyers Want” • Tesla dominates EV sales in the US. CNN Business interviewed twelve drivers who have pre-orders with Rivian, a US automaker focused on electric trucks and SUVs that’s expected to go public later this year. They say that a key part of Rivian’s appeal is how different it is from Tesla. [CNN]

Rivian pickup (Rivian image)

¶ “Pulaski County Will Shift To Near 90% Solar Power” • The Arkansas Public Service Commission approved Pulaski County’s application to complete a first-of-its-kind solar array. The main goal of the solar project is to lower annual electricity costs and pursue clean energy, county attorney Adam Fogleman told the commission. [The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

¶ “Major Energy Storage Project Proposed Near Lebec Along California Aqueduct” • California’s latest 10-figure energy storage proposal in the county is a damlike “pumped hydro” project connected to the California Aqueduct that would store and release 3,500 GWh of electricity per year on or near Tejon Ranch in Kern County. [The Bakersfield Californian]

Have an uncommonly entertaining day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “COP26: What Is The Glasgow Climate Conference And Why Is It Important?” • The UK is hosting a summit that may be crucial for climate change to be brought under control. The meeting in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November could lead to major changes to our everyday lives. Two hundred countries are asked for plans to address climate change. [BBC]

Survey launch from NOAA ship Fairweather (NOAA, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Tesla Rolls Out “FSD Beta Button” And “Safety Score” To Countless Tesla Owners” • After a long and often impatient wait, Tesla owners across the US have nearly gotten access to the company’s “FSD Beta” driver-assist software for city streets. As one of those owners, Zach Shahan documents what exactly he got in the past 24 hours. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Calendar Aging Research Is Critical To Future Of Silicon-Based Batteries” • Silicon anodes offer a promising improvement to existing lithium-ion technology. Replacing the graphite anode material typically used in Li-ion batteries with silicon anodes may pave the way to reducing battery pack size by 25%–30% and increase driving range by 30%–40%. [CleanTechnica]

Scientist studying silicon nanoparticles (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

World:

¶ “Many Nations Join Call For No New Coal Plants” • After China announced it will stop overseas coal power finance, a group of countries, including Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, and the UK have announced a No New Coal Power Compact. They aim to encourage all countries to commit to stop building coal-fired power plants. [The Sentinel Assam]

¶ “Mercedes And Volkswagen Ramp Up Battery Factory Plans” • New Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius announced that his company has taken a 33% stake valued at $1.2 billion in battery cell maker Automotive Cells Company. Also, Volkswagen announced a new battery factory, which it expects to deliver over 150,000 battery systems per year, in Hefei, China. [CleanTechnica]

Model of a future components plant in Hefei (Volkswagen image)

¶ “Oh Polly! Installs Renewable Energy System At Wirral Warehouse” • Based in Wirral, in North West England, online fashion giant Oh Polly said it has taken”bold steps to deliver on its sustainability promise” by installing a renewable energy system. The firm is investing £700,000 in a new system that will provide heat and electricity. [Wirral Globe]

¶ “Xlinks Launches Morocco-UK Renewable Energy Plan” • Xlinks has set out plans to export clean electricity from Morocco to the UK, via HVDC subsea cables. The Morocco-UK Power Project will generate 3.6 GW of electricity in the North African state using solar and wind. The project will also include a 5-GW, 20-GWh battery. [Energy Voice]

Wind farm in Morocco (sqala, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Young People Around The World Take To The Streets And Demand Urgent Climate Change Action” • Young people around the world took to the streets on Friday to demand urgent action to avert disastrous climate change, in their largest protest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The strike took place five weeks before the COP26 summit. [Newshub]

¶ “UK Looking At Deal To Remove China From Nuclear Project: Report” • The UK is closing in on a deal that would remove China’s state-owned China General Nuclear Power Group from involvement in building a nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast, eastern England, alongside France’s EDF, according to a report in The Guardian. [Press TV]

Sizewell B Power Station (Robin Somes, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Prime Minister And Chancellor Backing Plans For New Nuclear Power Plant In Wales” • The Prime Minister of the UK and the Chancellor of the Exchequer back plans for a nuclear plant in Wales. Dylan Morgan, co-ordinator for an anti-nuclear campaign group, pointed out that it will take fifteen years to build, and the crisis is here now. [Nation.Cymru]

US:

¶ “Lying, Cheating Oil And Gas Companies Stick Taxpayers With Cleanup Bill” • There are millions of abandoned gas and oil wells all across America. Many states require oil and gas companies to put up a bond to cover the cost of closing them down, but in practice, that bond is often a small percentage of the actual cost. Taxpayers pay the difference. [CleanTechnica]

Pump jacks (NIOSH image, public domain)

¶ “Progressive Caucus Presses For End To Fossil Fuel Subsidies” • As Congress drafts reconciliation legislation, the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus pressed leaders of the US House of Representatives for an end to major fossil fuel subsidies that fuel pollution in communities across the country as part of the Build Back Better Act. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “City Of Minneapolis: Help The City Prioritize Ways To Reach 100% Renewable Electricity Goals” • The City of Minneapolis appealed to residents: “We are in a climate crisis. To fight climate change, Minneapolis has developed a draft 100% Renewable Electricity Plan to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy and needs to know your priorities.” [Patch]

Have a monumentally advantageous day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Climate Change: Whisper It Cautiously… There Has Been Progress In Run Up To COP26” • With just five weeks left until world leaders gather in Glasgow for a critical climate summit, the BBC’s Matt McGrath and Roger Harrabin consider progress at this week’s UN gathering and the outstanding issues that remain before November’s Climate Summit. [BBC]

Logo of the UN Climate Summit in November

¶ “Adapt To Survive – A Carbon Tracker Report” • Oil companies need to adapt to avoid massive losses and stranded assets. Sadly, I expect that they will milk the cow until it is dead. Carbon Tracker warns of multi-billion-dollars worth of stranded assets and says net zero emissions action must start soon. First to suffer will be high-cost oil production. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bill McKibben On Climate Crisis, Climate Grief, Climate Action, And US Climate Policy – CleanTechnica Interview” • In this episode of CleanTech Talk, Bill McKibben and Zachary Shahan talk about the climate change crisis, climate grief, US climate policy, rampant conspiracy theories, the great energy transition, and more. [CleanTechnica]

Bill McKibben speaking in 2016 (Gage Skidmore, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Congress And Reconciliation: Why This New Clean Energy Program Matters” • The Clean Electricity Performance Program was passed out of a key House of Representatives committee last week. It is a step closer to reality, as part of the powerful budget reconciliation bill. Passage of this and complementary measures is very important for clean energy. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “Electric Construction Equipment From Volvo CE Passes One Year Test With Flying Colors” • Volvo Construction Equipment is creating construction equipment. Two battery-powered units, the L25 electric compact wheel loader and the ECR25 electric compact excavator, have been put through a year of trials and had enthusiastic praise. [CleanTechnica]

Volvo CE electric loader (Volvo CE image)

¶ “World Leaders Pledge $400 Billion To Boost Clean Energy And Renewables” • Numerous political and business leaders have committed more than $400 billion (just over €340 billion) to the expansion of renewable and clean energy, the UN announced. They also vowed to dramatically expand access to electricity in developing nations. [DW]

¶ “Tušnica Wind Farm And Zvizdan Solar Power Plant To Be Online By End-2023” • Works are under way on two more renewable energy power plants in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both should be online by the end of 2023. They are the 72.6-MW Tušnica wind farm and the 23-MW Zvizdan solar power plant. [Balkan Green Energy News]

Wind turbines (Laura Penwell, Pexels)

¶ “As Energy Prices Soar In Spain, Residents Seek Renewable Alternatives” • Across Spain, the price of electricity has steadily risen at historically high rates since early this summer, and it’s expected to climb even higher. Experts say the price hike is due to several factors, primarily the increase of the price of natural gas and CO₂ emission costs. [PRI.org]

¶ “EU Vows To Accelerate Renewable Energy As Electricity Costs Soar” • With gas and electricity prices soaring in Europe and industry having a hard keeping up with the cost, the EU energy and transport ministers met in Slovenia to address problem. The solution is accelerate the increased use and development of renewable energy. [Environment + Energy Leader]

Transmission lines (Pixabay)

¶ “UEA Scientist Says Sizewell C Nuclear Plant Is Outdated” • Nuclear power has been “outdated by technology” and offshore wind can produce power more quickly and cheaply, an energy scientist told the BBC. Professor in energy and climate change Charlie Wilson said there was no longer a good case for a new £20 billion Sizewell C plant. [BBC]

US:

¶ “La Niña Is About To Take The Southwest Drought From Bad To Worse” • Though summer rainfall brought some relief to the Southwest, the unrelenting drought there is about to get worse with La Niña on the horizon, the director at the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said. La Niña conditions are typically drier than normal in the Southwest. [CNN]

Drought map (National Drought Mitigation Center)

¶ “Colorado Law Creates Transparency At Rural Electric Co-Ops” • Colorado has long had a law ensuring cooperative transparency and access to board meetings. However, that transparency and access doesn’t apply to Tri-State, a generation and transmission cooperative. But Tri-State has been losing members over coal, which has become too expensive. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “This San Francisco Housing Development Comes With Its Own Farm” • Some things like the Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars just scream “San Francisco.” But a new housing development in San Francisco may take the “peak California” crown. Designed by Agrihood, it includes something you might not expect in its plans: its own farm. [CleanTechnica]

Urban farm (Image courtesy of Agrihood)

¶ “TotalEnergies Breaks Ground On 80-MW Texas PV” • TotalEnergies and its partner 174 Power Global have started construction of the 80-MW Midlothian Gerdau solar farm in Texas, as a 50:50 joint venture. The steel producer Gerdau Long Steel North America will buy the electricity generated under a 20-year power purchase agreement. [reNEWS]

¶ “Governor Of California Signs Legislation To Kickstart Californian Offshore Wind” • Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation encouraging Californian offshore wind development as part of the state’s goal to have 100% clean energy by 2045. The bill requires the California Energy Commission to establish offshore wind goals. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Have an abundantly rewarding day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Why Are E-Bikes Taking Off In North America While Electric Motorcycles Stagnate?” • It used to be that there were bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles, with fairly bright lines between these categories, but electrification is making a mess of all that, both practically and legally. There are now reasons why people prefer bicycles over motorcycles. [CleanTechnica]

E-bike (Gotrax, Unsplash)

¶ “A Federal Clean Energy Standard Would Build On Decades Of State Experience” • Starting with Iowa, thirty states have already set clean-energy goals. Their successes in meeting the goals, and proving critics wrong, are the seeds for a national standard. A new series of stories from Audubon investigates the industry at this crucial time. [National Audubon Society]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Lithium-Sulfur, Lithium-Carbon – Batteries Have Come A Long Way, Baby” • Ready for some battery tech news? Both Lyten and MAHLE have announced new battery technology breakthroughs, and neither is some pie-in-the-sky laboratory experiment. Both promise lower costs, faster charging, and reduced flammability. [CleanTechnica]

Lyten lithium-sulfur batteries (Lyten image)

World:

¶ “Renewable Energy Giants Pan ‘Coalkeeper Policy’ As Ministers Meet” • Representatives of some of Australia’s most prominent renewable energy companies are united in criticism of an Energy Security Board proposal that consumers pay such conventional generators as coal and gas power plants for their electricity plus an added fee for their capacity. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “Sleeping Beauty’s Forest Is Dying. It’s Not The Only Climate Crisis Facing Germany’s Next Chancellor” • The forests around Sababurg Castle are dying because of climate change and the invasive species it is driving. The climate is an important issue in the election, the first in 16 years that won’t feature Chancellor Angela Merkel. [CNN]

Damaged spruce forest in the Harz (Fährtenleser, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Gas Crisis Leaves Europe Searching For Solutions” • In Europe, consumers are facing a steep rise in energy bills, and governments are scrambling to help. The crisis has highlighted the difficulty for Europeans in funding the move to renewable energy. Here, five correspondents explain how different countries are responding. [BBC]

¶ “SA Mines To Invest In Massive 2 GW Of Renewable Energy” • South African mining companies plan to invest in 2 GW of supplementary renewable energy, as Eskom can’t meet the industry’s energy demand, according to Minerals Council of South Africa CEO Roger Baxter. The industry is also considering alternative fuels such as hydrogen. [News24]

Wind turbines (Mainstream Renewables image)

¶ “Global Offshore Wind Energy Compact Signed By IRENA And GWEC” • The International Renewable Energy Agency and the Global Wind Energy Council announced an agenda to ensure sustainable energy for all while helping in the war against climate change. It seeks a great increase in the share of offshore wind energy by 2030. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Polish Copper Giant Signs Deal With US Company For Small Nuclear Reactors” • Polish copper giant KGHM signed an MOU with NuScale Power for the development of at least four small nuclear reactors to power its plants. “The changes in the climate are forcing us to take decisive action,” said the president of the KGHM management board. [EURACTIV.com]

KGHM copper works (Krzychu6, placed into the public domain)

US:

¶ “Mercedes EQS Starting Price Is Lower Than Gas S-Class Starting Price” • Mercedes just exploded the myth that EVs are more expensive than their gas-powered equivalents. It released pricing and specifications for the EQS coming to the US next year. The starting price for the EQS is much below that of the fuel-burning S-Class. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GM Reveals Details Of Its Ultium Electric Motors” • We have heard a lot about the Ultium batteries GM is manufacturing with its partner, LG Energy Solution, at a new factory in Lordstown, Ohio. Ultium is actually GM’s name for its entire EV platform that will be the basis for all of its electric cars going forward. Here is a look at the motors. [CleanTechnica]

GM Ultium motors (GM image)

¶ “Forecast: US Hydropower Generation To Decline 14% In 2021 Due To Drought” • In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Energy Information Administration forecast that electricity generation from US hydropower plants will be 14% lower in 2021 than in 2020. Extreme and exceptional drought conditions in the West are driving the decline. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “DuPont Signs 135-MW Wind VPPA In US” • Chemicals giant DuPont has signed a virtual power purchase agreement with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources for 135 MW of wind energy in Texas. The VPPA will deliver about 528,000 MWh of electricity per year from the Appaloosa Run project, which is to be operational by the end of 2022. [reNEWS]

Wind turbine (NextEra image)

¶ “What Can NH Learn From A Little Island With A Lot Of Renewable Energy?” • About 10 miles off New Hampshire’s coast, there’s a little island that could be a snapshot of what our future on the mainland might look like when it comes to renewable energy. Appledore Island has a microgrid largely powered by the sun and wind. [NH Business Review]

¶ “Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel Is Reviewing Plant Deconstruction And Waste Disposal” • The Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel has been holding a series of meetings reviewing the deconstruction of the former Vermont Yankee nuclear facility and long-term storage of its waste. [WAMC]

Have an indubitably capital day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Medium- And Heavy-Duty Vehicle Electrification 101” • To bring Americans better air and better health, we must transition to a fully zero-emission truck and bus fleet as soon as possible. How? By considering the need for charging infrastructure, costs of the vehicles, and getting help from utilities and supportive policies and programs. [CleanTechnica]

Mack Trucks electric garbage truck

¶ “Entergy Makes $11 Billion A Year But Failed To Protect Louisiana’s Power Grid During Ida – And Why” • Louisiana needs to embrace building microgrids and more distributed energy. However, Entergy is opposed to distributed energy, local renewable energy, and energy storage. In essence, it’s all about greed, money, and profits. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Wind Energy Can Deliver A Vital Reduction To Global Warming” • Implementing advance wind energy scenarios could greatly reduce the growth in average atmospheric temperatures of global warming. The reduction would be of 0.3°C to 0.8°C by the end of the century, according to a report by researchers at Cornell University. [Newswise]

Wind farm (RawFilm, Unsplash)

¶ “Air Pollution: Even Worse Than We Thought – WHO” • Air pollution is even more dangerous than previously thought, the World Health Organization warned, as it reduces maximum safe levels of key pollutants such nitrogen dioxide. The WHO said an estimated seven million people die prematurely each year from diseases linked to air pollution. [BBC]

World:

¶ “The Climate Can’t Wait For Electric Planes. Sustainable Fuel May Be The Answer” • More than 50 airlines, oil companies, and other companies, including Delta, BP, and Boeing, pledged to replace 10% of global jet fuel supply with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030. Experts say we can’t wait for electric planes to appear to address climate change. [CNN]

NASA X-57 Maxwell (NASA image, public domain)

¶ “Europe’s Gas Crisis Is Also A Renewables Crisis, But There Are Ready Solutions” • Europe has seen much higher prices for natural gas, has demand increased and wind power suffered from an unusually calm summer. EU politicians note in the crisis that reducing dependence on imported gas would mean reducing political dependence on Russia. [CNN]

¶ “More Zero Emissions Buses Are Coming To London And Mumbai” • While most of our attention here at CleanTechnica is on electric vehicles, the world’s public transportation systems are quietly moving forward with an EV revolution of their own. Here are two items that popped up in the world news during the past 24 hours. [CleanTechnica]

BYD electric bus in London (BYD image)

¶ “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Says The World Needs To ‘Grow Up’ And Deal With Climate Change” • Humanity needs to “grow up” and deal with the issue of climate change, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York. Johnson slammed the world’s inadequate response to the climate crisis. [CNN]

¶ “GE Renewable Energy And Kalyon To Power Turkey With 1.3-GW Solar Projects” • GE Renewable Energy announced it was selected by Kalyon to deliver its FLEXINVERTER* solar power station technology for two phases of the Karapinar solar plant in Turkey. The 1,080-MW project is expected to be operating in December 2022. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Solar array (GE Renewable Energy image)

¶ “German Solarwatt Opens New Production Line In Dresden” • Germany’s Solarwatt opened a new production line for PV modules as part of a 100 million euro ($117 million) investment, as it promotes the convergence of the renewable power, smart home, heating, and e-mobility. The line will produce a million modules per year. [Yahoo Finance]

US:

¶ “US Solar Industry Writes Letter: Anonymous Tariff Proposal Could Devastate US Clean Energy And Climate Progress” • Steep duties proposed by an anonymous group of petitioners would wreck thousands of US solar companies and make the industry miss out on 18 GW of solar PV deployment by 2023, the Solar Energy Industries Association says. [CleanTechnica]

Solar technician (Gustavo Fring, Pexels)

¶ “Tesla Breaks Ground On Its First Megafactory For Megapacks” • The reported ground-breaking for the new Megafactory is great news for Tesla and its energy customers, as Megapacks are in high demand. Once Tesla is able to mass-produce Megapacks at a faster clip, we could see Tesla Energy become just as successful as its automotive side. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Enlight Inks Power Purchase For 440-MW Arizona PV” • Enlight’s US solar subsidiary Clenera signed a power purchase agreement for the output from a 440-MW solar plant in Arizona. The 20-year PPA is with community-based energy utility SRP for the CO Bar Solar plant. The project is north-west of Flagstaff. It is due online in 2024. [reNEWS]

Solar array (Antonio Garcia, Unsplash)

¶ “Electrify America To Phase Out CHAdeMO In 2022” • Anxious and confused people are most often disinclined to embrace new technology. If we really want to turbocharge the EV revolution, we need to simplify the charging process. Pull in, plug in, charge up, and go. Electrify America must be reading my mind. It is simplifying charging. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ohio Lawmakers Revisiting Ways To Encourage Renewable Energy Development” • Ohio lawmakers say they want to figure out ways to bring more renewable energy projects to the state after the old renewable energy credits were rolled back in the sweeping and tainted energy bill of 2019 that also bailed out nuclear plants. [The Statehouse News Bureau]

Have an enduringly perfect day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Honest Australian Government Ads And The Great Australian Coverup” • Here is a series of ads created to show the truth about the Australian government’s approach to climate change. Don’t watch them if you are easily offended. They are intelligent and honest, but full of Aussie bawdy humor and satire. Each ad is a few minutes long. (Videos) [CleanTechnica]

Honest government ad (Screenshot via Youtube)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Analysis: Electric Heavy-Duty Vehicle Powertrains Can Provide Lower Total Cost Of Ownership” • A report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory examines the conditions for battery electric or fuel cell electric commercial trucks to offer economic advantages over diesel-fueled trucks. It looks into the total cost of ownership. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “China’s Xi Jinping Promises To Halt New Coal Projects Abroad Amid Climate Crisis” • Chinese President Xi Jinping made a key climate pledge in a pre-recorded address to the UN General Assembly. China will not build any new coal-fired power projects abroad and will increase financial support for low-carbon energy projects in other developing countries. [CNN]

Xi Jinping speaking in 2017 (Voice of America, public domain)

¶ “COP 26: How Much Is The Developing World Getting To Fight Climate Change?” • President Biden promised to double the amount of money the US is providing to help poorer countries deal with climate change. In 2009, the developed world agreed it would provide $100 billion a year to help poorer countries by 2020, but it has fallen shy of that goal. [BBC]

¶ “EV Production In Germany Shows What An EV Revolution Looks Like” • German automakers produced 53,221 EVs in July of this year. That was 21.7% of the total number of cars produced in Germany that month. In March of 2020, just 6.8% of the new cars were EVs and in January of 2019, only 3.2% of new cars were EVs, Energy Monitor said. [CleanTechnica]

Rolling out EVs (Image courtesy of Volkswagen)

¶ “Adani Group Plans To Invest $20 Billion In Renewable Energy Sector” • Indian conglomerate Adani Group announced plans to invest $20 billion in renewable energy over the next ten years. Chairman Gautam Adani said the group will invest in renewable energy generation, component manufacturing, transmission and distribution. [Power Technology]

¶ “Able To Power 50,000 Homes, The ‘World’s Largest Floating Wind Farm’ Takes Another Step Forward” • Norway’s Statkraft said that a long-term purchasing agreement related to a floating offshore wind farm dubbed “the world’s largest” had started, in another step forward for the emerging renewable energy sector. The wind farm was recently completed. [CNBC]

Floating wind turbine (Statkraft image)

¶ “Iran Announces It Will Resume Vienna Nuclear Negotiations In Coming Weeks” • Nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers should resume in the coming weeks, the country’s foreign ministry spokesman said during a visit to New York for the UN General Assembly. An agreement of 2015 was undone by Donald Trump. [The Times of Israel]

¶ “EDP Renewables Signs A 15-Year PPA For 297 MW Of Wind Power In Canada” • EDP Renewables has closed the agreement with TransCanada Energy to sell the green energy from its Shap Hills wind farm, avoiding estimated annual emissions of 700,000 tons of CO₂. With this new PPA, EDPR now has 400 MW of secured capacity in Canada. [Evwind]

Wind turbines (EDPR Canada)

US:

¶ “Tesla Megapack And Solar To Replace 562-MW New Mexico Coal Plant” • Tesla’s Megapack energy storage tech will be used to help New Mexico’s Public Service Company to replace a retiring 562-MW coal plant, the San Juan Generating Station. The coal plant is located near the San Juan Mine and produced power at $45/MWh in 2018 and 2019. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Bringing Reliable, Renewable Energy To The People Of Puerto Rico” • RMI and a set of partners formed the Puerto Rico Community Energy Resilience Initiative with a goal is to advance access to reliable and renewable energy for critical facilities in low-to-moderate income communities using solar plus storage microgrids. [CleanTechnica]

San Juan, Puerto Rico (Wei Zeng, Unsplash)

¶ “GM Says It Has Fixed The Chevy Bolt Battery Problem And New Cells Already In Production” • Good news. GM and LG say they have solved the battery cell manufacturing defect that led to several battery fires. LG stopped producing the cells in August, but resumed production recently. GM says it will begin replacing battery packs in October. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Appalachia Poised To Become Clean Energy Country” • In the clean energy transition, many fear that coal-dependent regions like Appalachia will lose out or be left behind. But RMI analysis challenges that assumption. It says Appalachia could be where the biggest economic benefit from the deployment of wind and solar projects happens in the next decade. [CleanTechnica]

Appalachia (Jenna Richardson, Pexels)

¶ “South Amboy Wind Energy Project Could Power Up To 1.4 Million Homes In NJ” • Rise Light & Power, based in Queens, New York, is planning to convert a Raritan Bay brownfield site contaminated by an oil-fired power plant into an offshore wind hub. The site could deliver enough power for up to 1.4 million homes in New Jersey. [MyCentralJersey.com]

¶ “Duke Energy Expanding Renewable Portfolio With First Wind Project In Iowa” • Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions is working on its first wind farm in Iowa, the 207-MW Ledyard Windpower project. Verizon Communications Inc contracted to purchase 180 MW of the wind farm’s capacity under a 15-year power-purchase agreement. [The Business Journals]

Have a sustainably enriching day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Akio Toyoda Would Rather Die Than Adapt” • Akio Toyoda, grandson of the founder of Toyota, is in full frontal assault mode on proposals by Japan’s government to reduce CO₂ emissions by transitioning to EVs. He is not just Toyota’s CEO, he is also the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association’s chairman, so he has a lot of clout. [CleanTechnica]

Toyota Mirai (Toyoda image)

¶ “Latest UN Climate Report Is ‘Grim And Alarming'” • A report, United In Science 2021, prepared by the World Meteorological Organization in conjunction with the IPCC, the United Nations Environment Program, UNESCO, and several other groups, paints a dire picture of a planet that is rapidly overheating due to human activity. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Tech Students Unveil Solar-Powered Camper/Tiny House” • Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has a well deserved reputation for cultivating bright, inquisitive students. Their latest success is named Stella Vita (“star life,” if you remember your Latin), a tiny house on wheels powered entirely by the sun. [CleanTechnica]

Stella Vita (Eindhoven University of Technology)

World:

¶ “More Than 200 Companies Joined A Pledge To Hit Net-Zero Carbon By 2040” • More than 200 companies, including Twitter, Salesforce, and Procter & Gamble, signed a climate pledge that aims to reduce their carbon emissions over the next two decades. The project is part of a collaboration between Amazon and the advocacy group Global Optimism. [CNN]

¶ “Poland Ordered To Pay A $580,000 Fine For Each Day It Continues Operating A Controversial Coal Mine” • Poland is to pay a €500,000 ($586,000) fine for each day it takes coal from an open-pit mine near the Czech and German borders, Europe’s top court ruled. The KWB Turów mine supplies power to around 2.3 million Polish households. [CNN]

Turów mine (Wolkenkratzer, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Government Should Have Moved Earlier To Low-Carbon, Say Industry Experts” • Renewable energy and low-carbon heating could do much to alleviate gas supply problems of the future. They could have done much already to reduce the impact of soaring gas prices, if the government had acted sooner to shift UK markets, energy experts say. [The Guardian]

¶ “Why Is There A CO₂ Shortage And How Will It Hit Food Supplies?” • When two large UK fertilizer factories stopped work because of soaring wholesale gas prices, they also stopped producing CO₂, a by-product. This means there has been a cut of 60% of the UK’s food-grade CO₂ supply. And CO₂ has many different uses for food. [BBC]

Empty shelves (Martijn Baudoin, Unsplash)

¶ “EDP Renewables, TC Energy Sign Power Agreement For Alberta Wind Farm” • EDP Renewables Canada Ltd and TC Energy Corp have executed a 15-year power purchase agreement for 100% of the output of the 297-MW Sharp Hills Wind Farm, near the hamlets of Sedalia and New Bridgen, in the province of Alberta. [North American Windpower]

¶ “BP Gambles Big On Fast Transition From Oil To Renewables” • Oil major BP agreed to sell a third of its majority stake in a very profitable project earlier this year. The deal exemplifies a larger strategy to liquidate the company’s fossil-fuel assets to raise cash for investments in renewable-energy projects that BP concedes won’t make money for years. [Reuters]

Lightsource BP solar farm (Press release image)

¶ “Uniper And Ørsted Form Partnership For Offshore Wind-To-Hydrogen In Germany” • Ørsted and Uniper, a power producer and gas trader, formed a partnership with to develop combined offshore wind and hydrogen projects in Germany. One plant is expected to have a capacity of 70 MW in 2025, to be expanded to 410 MW by 2030. [Offshore Wind]

US:

¶ “Taco Bell Wants To Recycle Your Old Fire Sauce Packets” • Taco Bell has set aside millions of dollars to make sure those little Mild, Hot, and Fire sauce packets you get with your takeout order don’t end up in landfills. You laugh? To be fair, I laughed, too. Then I learned that some 8 million pounds of the things end up in landfills every year. [CleanTechnica]

Plastic packet (Image courtesy Taco Bell)

¶ “Governor Hochul Announces New Green Energy Projects” • Governor Kathy Hochul proposed new initiatives to increase the state’s reliance on renewable energy and combat climate change that brought a brutal storm this month and flooded New York City. Also, two transmission line contracts were awarded to bring power to the city. [New York Post]

¶ “Harley-Davidson S1 Mosh/Tribute E-Bike Goes On Sale This Year” • This week, Harley-Davidson has unveiled its Serial 1 Mosh/Tribute, an e-bike that faithfully evokes the look of the first Harley-Davidson motorcycle in 1903, forever enshrined in company lore as Serial 1. It has all the thoughtful touches that are true to the Serial 1 original. [CleanTechnica]

Serial 1 Mosh/Tribute electric bike (Harley-Davidson image)

¶ “Ørsted Completes Muscle Shoals Solar Project In Alabama” • Ørsted continues to expand its solar footprint in the US and has completed the 227 MW Muscle Shoals solar project in Alabama. Sited in the Tennessee Valley Authority service area, the project has a long-term PPA with TVA and will support a new Facebook data center. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

¶ “Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Ahead Of Schedule” • The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant closed seven years ago, and the decommissioning process is still going on. Northstar, which specializes in the work, took ownership of plant in January of 2019. It is now over a third of the way through the project, the Northstar CEO Scott State said. [WCAX]

Have an invincibly confident day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Australia Claims 1.2% Of Global CO₂ Emissions – Should Be 10%” • The hypocrites in Canberra blame the big emitters India and China for climate change, but the coal they are burning is ours. We dig the stuff out of the ground, sell it overseas, and wash our hands of the outcome. We claim to be low-carbon emitters, but the carbon they emit is ours. [CleanTechnica]

Australia (David Clode, Unsplash)

¶ “Dealers Are Preventing Ford From Competing With Tesla” • If Ford, or any legacy automaker for that matter, really wants to compete with Tesla, the dealers need to get out of the way. For decades, dealerships have been the only way you could purchase a new car. Tesla is forcing them to change, but instead, they are fighting to stay what they are. [CleanTechnica]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Climate TRACE Lifts The Veil On Oil & Gas Emissions” • The production and refining processes for oil and gas account for about one-tenth of human-made greenhouse gases, making the sector one of the world’s largest emitters. With the launch of Climate TRACE, we are closer to clear answers about where those GHGs are coming from. [CleanTechnica]

Natural gas pipeline (Selim Arda Eryilmaz, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Climate Pledges Tough To Secure Before COP26 Summit, PM Warns” • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the US for a UN meeting where he will urge leaders to take “concrete action” on the issue. But he said it would be “tough” to persuade allies to meet their promise to give $100 billion a year to developing nations to cut carbon emissions. [BBC]

¶ “Burundi Floods: Lake Tanganyika’s Water Levels Rise” • Natural disasters have forced more than 100,000 people to flee their homes in Burundi in recent years, according to Save the Children. Most of them lived on the shores of Lake Tanganyika where water levels had risen because of heavy storms, causing floods and landslides. [BBC]

Lake Tanganyika (Worldtraveller, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “NHS Hospital Set To Become First In England Powered Entirely By Renewable Energy” • Planners have given the green light to build a solar farm to power Wolverhampton’s New Cross hospital, the city’s main hospital. Plans show the solar farm will be size of 21 football pitches, and it will be on an unused landfill at the Bowman’s Harbour site. [iNews]

¶ “Ørsted Signs 100-MW Riffgrund 3 Power Play” • German food retailer REWE Group signed a power purchase deal with Ørsted for 100 MW of power from the 900-MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm in the German North Sea. The 100 MW of green power from Borkum Riffgrund 3 can cover the power demand of 1500 REWE stores. [reNEWS]

Borkum Riffgrund 2 (Ørsted image)

¶ “BP’s Joint Solar Venture Lightsource BP To More Than Double Expansion By 2025” • BP’s joint solar venture, Lightsource BP, can more than double its global expansion by 2025. The solar developer has clinched a financing deal worth $1.8 billion (£1.3 billion) to develop enough solar farms to power the equivalent of 8.4 million homes. [The Guardian]

¶ “TEPCO Bungles Placement Of 100 Fire Detectors At Nuclear Plant” • TEPCO has continued its bumbling ways concerning safety measures, misplacing about a hundred fire detectors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, sources said. The fire detectors were not placed in locations set under safety regulations. [Asahi Shimbun]

Kashiwazaki-Kariwa (IAEA Imagebank, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Australia:

¶ “The Hub Could Impact Tasmania’s Goal Of Reaching 200% Renewable Power” • Clean Hydrogen Industry Hub program proponents say a Bell Bay facility would provide jobs and economic growth for the state, but experts warn it could harm the state’s long-term green energy goals by increasing the demand for electricity. [The Examiner]

¶ “Neoen Locks In Finance For Kaban Wind Hub, Despite Pitt Snub” • French renewable energy and storage developer Neoen has locked in $370 million of finance for the 157-MW Kaban wind farm in north Queensland. This is despite the fact that the Kaban project was denied a government loan by the federal resources minister, Keith Pitt. [Renew Economy]

Wind turbines (RawFilm, Unsplash)

¶ “Rio Tinto To Triple Weipa Solar Capacity And Add Battery Storage To Help Power Operations” • Rio Tinto has approved a new solar farm and battery storage at Weipa in Queensland, in a move that will more than triple the local electricity network’s solar generation capacity and help provide cleaner power to Rio Tinto’s operations. [Business Wire]

US:

¶ “KNP Complex Fire Reaches Part Of Sequoia National Park’s Giant Forest, Threatening Some Of The World’s Largest Trees” • The KNP Complex Fire in California reached a “small area” of the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park, home to some of the world’s largest trees, fire officials said. They have spent recent days preparing the trees for the threat of fire. [CNN]

General Sherman tree (Gene Daniels, NARA, public domain)

¶ “Nickel-Hydrogen Battery For Large Scale Renewables” • US start-up EnerVenue secured funding for a gigafactory to make nickel-hydrogen batteries for large-scale applications. The battery efficiency is 80% to 90%, depending on the cycle rate, and its energy density per square foot is at least equal to lithium-ion batteries, the company said. [PV Magazine]

¶ “State Parks Adding Energy Project To Niagara Falls State Park” • As part of a series of new sustainability initiatives that are being announced by state agencies for Climate Week 2021, New York State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid announced a new solar array to provide power to maintenance operations at Niagara Falls State Park. [niagara-gazette.com]

Have an assuredly exquisite day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “API Smashes Brakes As Momentum For Methane Action Grows” • Change may be inevitable, but the timeline for change is not. After a long history of climate denial and deception, the American Petroleum Institute is now all about delay. Delay action, delay accountability, delay change. Delay is everything: It’s all about delay. [CleanTechnica]

Bush fire in Tasmania (Matt Palmer, Unsplash)

¶ “Australia resisted using nuclear power for decades. Here’s why the AUKUS deal is making people there angry” • The US and UK will share technology with Australia to help it build nuclear submarines. France, which has lost a long-standing agreement to supply Australia with diesel-powered subs, is furious. But they aren’t the only ones. [MSN]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Blue Food Revolution Can Help Solve Climate Change, Malnutrition And Economic Crisis: Study” • Research shows how aquatic food sectors can play a vital role in providing healthy diets and a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient food system across the globe. The proceedings of the study were published in the journal Nature. [Republic World]

School of fish (jean wimmerlin, Unsplash)

World:

¶ “Government ‘Determined’ To Secure Competitive Future For UK Steel Amid Energy Price Spike” • The UK government is “determined to secure a competitive future for the UK steel industry” amid the current spike in energy prices, and aims to boost its renewable energy sector to this effect, a spokesperson for the government said. [S&P Global]

¶ “In Canada And Germany, The Climate Crisis Is Finally On The Ballot. But Can It Win?” • Climate change rarely makes or breaks an election. But the tide appears to be turning. The climate crisis is finally on the ballot. In Canada and Germany, it has become an important issue, and political parties supporting climate action are gaining strength. [CNN]

Offshore oil platform (Jan-Rune Smenes Reite, Pexels)

¶ “ASEAN Power Grid – Option For Singapore To Source Green Energy” • In Singapore, power generation still accounts for 40% of total emissions. But, to halve its peak emissions by 2050, Singapore will start importing electricity from Malaysia by the end of this year. For a start, it will import 100 MW, which would meet just 1.5% of its demand. [The Straits Times]

¶ “Climate Change: Aberystwyth Green Department Store Opens” • The Climate Shop, in Lampeter, Ceredigion, has been described as the world’s greenest department store. The store, which recycles and re-sells household items, is opening a second shop in Aberystwyth, on the Welsh coast. It is aiming to raise awareness of climate change. [BBC]

Climate Shop (Climate Shop)

¶ “England Plans To Open Its First Coal Mine In Decades In Cumbria” • Britain started closing coal mines a very long time ago. Ironically, now that global warming panic has spread and Glasgow hosts a carbon reduction summit in November, England is looking at opening its first coal mine in Whitehaven (Cumbria) in several decades. [SmallCapNews.co.uk]

¶ “Rolls-Royce Electric Airplane Takes Flight” • Rolls-Royce Aerospace has been a leader in developing electric propulsion systems for airplanes in order to help lead the world forward into a future of zero-emissions flight. The company has been working on the fastest electric airplane, able to fly at over 300 mph. Now they have flown it. [CleanTechnica]

Rolls-Royce Spirit of Innovation (Courtesy of Rolls-Royce)

US:

¶ “CarMax Survey Finds 56% Of Car Owners Likely To Buy An EV Or Hybrid Next” • CarMax, one of the largest US car sellers, did a survey to find out what people think of eco-friendly cars. In a survey of 1,049 current car owners, 56% of respondents said they intend to purchase either a hybrid or electric car the next time they buy a car. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GM Tells Bolt Owners To Park 50 Feet Away From Other Cars, Extends EV Production Halt” • General Motors told some Chevy Bolt owners to park 50 feet away from other cars so they won’t be at risk if a spontaneous fire breaks out, Bloomberg reported. GM has recalled around 142,000 Bolts sold since 2016 because the batteries can catch on fire. [CleanTechnica]

Chevy Bolt (Kevauto, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Tesla’s Autopilot Saves More Lives: Suspected DUI Driver Passed Out While Driving And Was Safely Stopped” • Tesla’s Autopilot feature is not perfect, but it has already saved countless lives. Yesterday, the life of a woman who passed out while driving and the lives of the police who attempted to stop the car were potentially saved. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Swell Energy Launches Home Battery Rewards For Hawaiian Electric Customers” • Swell Energy Inc is enrolling 6,000 O‘ahu, Hawai‘i Island and Maui solar and energy storage customers in its Home Battery Rewards program with Hawaiian Electric. It offers significant incentives for existing and new energy storage systems powered by rooftop solar. [Maui Now]

Have an unambiguously idyllic day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Toss, Repair, Or Recycle Solar Panels? How Human Behavior Affects Fate Of Old Solar Panels” • By 2050, there could be 80 million metric tons globally of solar PVs reaching the end of their lifetime, with 10 million metric tons in the US alone. NREL researchers addressed this in an article published in the journal Nature Energy. [CleanTechnica]

Rooftop solar system (Vivint Solar, Pexels)

¶ “Climate Change Is Choking The Oxygen Out Of Deep Water, And It’s Putting Fish In A Double Bind” • Being a fish was never easy, but a new paper reports that it’s been getting harder over the last 15 years or so. According to the findings, oxygen levels are dropping in the depths of the oceans, forcing fish to move ever closer to the surface. [ZME Science]

World:

¶ “Biden Announces Global Goal To Reduce Planet-Warming Methane Emissions” • President Joe Biden announced the US and EU have launched a global pledge to reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, by nearly 30% by the end of the decade. Methane emissions are driven by fossil fuels, coal mining and agriculture. [CNN]

LNG Carrier Alto Acrux (kenhodge13, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “The Planet Is On A ‘Catastrophic’ Global Warming Path, UN Report Shows” • The planet is careening toward warming of 2.7°C above pre-industrial levels, according to a report on global emissions targets by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is far above the highest temperature scientists say the world should be allowing. [CNN]

¶ “Renault Trucks Expanding Its Electric Truck Range” • Renault Trucks is increasing its EV offerings to meet the needs of urban areas, with the 18 tonne D Wide ZE. It joins the 16 and 26 tonne Renault Truck models. Renault Trucks has also designed a new system to increase the energy efficiency of electric trucks with refrigerated bodies. [Renewable Energy Magazine]

Renault electric truck (Renault image)

¶ “ACWA Power To Build 100-MW Uzbekistan Wind Farm” • Saudi Arabian developer ACWA Power is the preferred bidder to become an independent power producer to build a 100-MW wind farm in Uzbekistan. The Ministry of Energy said the project is expected to be operational in less than two years. The ACWA Power bid was 2.5695¢/kWh. [reNEWS]

¶ “Gas Price Rises Prompt Urgent Government Talks” • The government is holding urgent talks with representatives from the energy industry as there is growing concern about a spike in wholesale gas prices. High global demand, maintenance issues at some gas sites, and lower solar and wind output are blamed for the price rise. [BBC]

Oil drilling rig (Nestor Galina, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Elon Musk: Tesla FSD Beta Button Going Out Next Friday” • After huge code rewrites, a switch to a vision-only approach, and countless hours of beta testing by a few thousand lucky owners, it appears that Tesla is finally ready to roll out feature-complete Full Self-Driving access to a wide swath of North American Tesla owners. Maybe. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “US Offshore Wind Industry Has Electrifying Future” • The Offshore Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition, written by a team of researchers at the DOE and NREL, says the US offshore wind industry made great progress in 2020 and early 2021. The offshore wind pipeline grew 24%, with 35,324 MW now in various stages of development. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore wind turbines (Mitchell Orr, Unsplash, cropped)

¶ “Former Coal Plant Suggested As Interconnection Point For New Jersey Offshore Wind” • Rise Light & Power announced plans for an innovative new renewable energy hub to deliver New Jersey’s offshore wind resource to the state’s electric grid in a manner that is environmentally responsible, efficient, and affordable. [Windpower Engineering & Development]

¶ “South Bronx Eyed As Converter Station Location For Two Renewable Energy Proposals” • NYSERDA is hoping to procure innovative renewable energy projects by the end of the year that will transition New York City away from power by fossil fuels and create a renewable energy private sector that can create a wealth of new jobs in the city. [Bronx Times]

Renewable energy (CleanPath NY image)

¶ “SRP Installs Largest Stand-Alone Battery In Arizona So Far” • Salt River Project announced that the largest stand-alone battery system in Arizona is now operating. The Bolster Substation Battery System in Peoria can discharge 25 MW of energy over a 4-hour period. That is enough to power about 5,600 average Arizona households. [The Arizona Republic]

¶ “TVA Gives Up Construction Permit For Nuclear Plant” • The Tennessee Valley Authority is giving up its construction permit for an unfinished nuclear plant in northeast Alabama nearly 50 years after work began. The move came after a federal judge agreed to cancel the proposed sale of the plant to developer Franklin L. Haney’s nuclear startup. [WZTV]

Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant (Courtesy of the TVA)

¶ “New Mexico Backs Texas In Opposing Nuclear Fuel Storage” • Top New Mexico leaders say they’re open to “most anything” that would prevent spent nuclear fuel and other high-level waste from being stored indefinitely in the state, including legislation like a measure recently adopted by Texas to prevent the shipping and storage of such waste. [Santa Fe New Mexican]

¶ “DOE Invests $61 Million In Advanced Nuclear R&D Projects” • The US DOE has invested more than $61 million in funding awards for 99 advanced nuclear energy technology projects in 30 states and a US territory. The projects will focus on nuclear energy research, cross-discipline technology development, and nuclear reactor infrastructure. [BIC Magazine]

Have a sensationally comfortable day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Moving From Pain To Gain On Climate Solutions” • Since the Paris climate conference in 2015, the cost of renewable energy has fallen to below that of coal. But it’s not just economics. There are also gains for the environment, health, and energy security and access. There is no longer a trade-off between development and climate mitigation. [CleanTechnica]

Near Lake Placid (Alex Shutin, Unsplash)

¶ “Exxon Helped Cause The Climate Crisis. It’s Time They Paid Up” • Fossil fuel companies bear much of the responsibility for humanity’s climate predicament – and for finding a way out. Our planetary house is on fire, and these companies have literally supplied the fuel. Worse, they lied about it for decades to blunt public awareness and policy reform. [The Nation]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Ford And BMW Plan To Begin Testing Solid Power Batteries In 2022” • Doug Campbell, CEO of Solid Power, told TechCrunch that his company wants to be a leader in solid state electrolytes that replace lithium-ion batteries today. Ford and BMW have both invested in Solid Power, they will be the first companies to use them in actual EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Solid Power battery cells (Solid Power image)

World:

¶ “Short Of Gas, Wind, And Power: How A Perfect Storm Is Roiling The World’s Energy Market” • On Wednesday, two UK fertilizer plants announced that they would be shutting down production indefinitely. The reason they cited was not declining business or heavy tax burdens, but the cost of a precipitous rise in European gas prices. [Fortune]

¶ “Will This European Capital Ban Cars?” • As Paris, the City of Light, slowly begins to emerge from nationwide lockdowns, some politicians and officials are considering closing many of the capital’s streets to cars in order to improve air pollution and traffic congestion. Pedestrians, cyclists, and public transportation would be prioritized over cars. (Video) [BBC]

Paris (Pixabay, Pexels)

¶ “Plugin Electric Vehicles Get 28% Market Share In Germany In August!” • The German plugin vehicle battery EVs growing faster (+80% year over year ) than plug-in hybrids (+43%). There was a significant fall in the overall market (-23%). That means sales are falling off a cliff for petrol sales (-42%) and even more so diesel sales (-51%). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “RWE Installs Final Triton Knoll Turbine” • RWE has installed the final turbine at the 857-MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm off the east coast of Lincolnshire, England. The project features 90 Vestas 9.5-MW machines. It remains on track to complete turbine commissioning in 2021 and achieve project completion in 2022, the company said. [reNEWS]

Offshore windpower (RWE image)

¶ “Clean Energy Prospects Beyond The 100-GW Milestone” • Today, India is a global powerhouse of renewable energy. Despite the covid pandemic, steady growth has helped us cross the 100 GW target of installed capacity (excluding large hydro projects). This is a momentous achievement for India as well as the world, as it helps reduce our CO₂ emissions. [Mint]

¶ “Scotland’s Green Energy Sector ‘Held Back’ By UK Grid Charges, MPs Conclude” • Scotland’s renewable energy sector is being held back by UK grid connection charges, cross-party groups of MPs concluded. The Scottish green power industry is at a disadvantage compared to the sectors in England and Wales which pay no fees or lower fees. [The National]

Whitelee wind farm (Rosser1954, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “House Lawmakers Launch Investigation Into Climate Crisis Disinformation By Fossil Fuel Industry” • The House Oversight and Reform Committee announced it is to investigate fossil fuel industry disinformation on the climate crisis. The committee invited the heads of six oil companies and lobbying groups to testify before it next month. [CNN]

¶ “White House Economists Say A Clean Energy Transition Will Lower Consumer Costs” • In a blog post shared first with CNN, White House economists argue that President Joe Biden’s climate agenda will not only cut carbon emissions but also bring down costs for consumers by increasing energy efficiency and cutting electricity costs. [CNN]

Wind turbines in Idaho (ENERGY.GOV, public domain)

¶ “Lucid Air Dream Edition Gets 520 Mile EPA Range Rating” • If you want the electric car with the longest range, plunk down $169,000 for a Lucid Air Dream Edition, which the EPA says has a range of 520 miles. That’s an extra hundred miles or so more than its nearest rival, the Tesla Model S Long Range, which costs a mere $89,900. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “California Fires: General Sherman And Other Sequoias Given Blankets” • Firefighters are wrapping fire-resistant blankets around ancient trees as blazes tear through California’s world-famous Sequoia National Park. Officials fear the fire could reach the Giant Forest, a grove of some of the world’s biggest trees, within hours. [BBC]

Trees in Sequoia National Park (Josh Carter, Unsplash)

¶ “Ford Adding 450 Manufacturing Jobs To Meet Demand For F-150 Lightning” • Interest in the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck is exceeding Ford’s wildest dreams. The company is adding 450 workers at three factories in Michigan to make sure it can meet demand. Ford also has upped its annual production goal to 80,000 units. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Pilgrim’s Progress: The Pace Of Decommissioning Plymouth’s Nuclear Plant Picks Up” • Just before Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim nuclear plant in Plymouth, Massachusetts is expected to reach a milestone. All the radioactive fuel from nearly half a century of operation will be removed from the reactor building and stored in special steel and cement casks. [WBUR]

Have a satisfyingly magnificent day.

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World:

¶ “US And EU Will Announce Global Pledge To Reduce Planet-Warming Methane Emissions On Friday” • The US and EU will announce on Friday a global pledge to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane, a senior Biden administration official has said. On that day, several world leaders will hold a virtual, closed-door meeting on climate. [CNN]

Gas pipeline in Chile (Diego Delso, delso.photo, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Not One G20 Country Is In Line With The Paris Agreement On Climate, Analysis Shows” • None of the the G20 countries, which have the world’s major economies, has a climate plan that meets its 2015 Paris Agreement obligations, according to an analysis. Scientists are warning that deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are needed now. [CNN]

¶ “XPeng Launches $25,000 To $35,000 P5 Electric Sedan – How Many Will XPeng Sell?” • XPeng has just dropped a massive hammer on the Chinese EV market. Despite being a smart electric car, XPeng’s new P5 model has a starting price of just ¥160,000 to ¥230,000 (after subsidies), which translates to $24,875 to $35,760. [CleanTechnica]

Xpeng P5 (JustAnotherCarDesigner, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Tesla Model 3 Shines In France As Plugin Vehicles Reach 20% Market Share!” • The French plugin vehicle market took its usual holiday in August, with last month’s plugin registrations ending at 17,404 units, divided between 9,916 BEVs and 7,488 PHEVs. The former jumped 78% year over year, while the latter were up 42%. The overall market is down 32%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EU Chief Challenges US On Climate And Asserts Brussels’ Role In ‘New International Order’” • In her State of the Union address to the European Parliament, EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen called on the US and China to increase efforts on the climate crisis, while also announcing plans to challenge their dominance in digital technology. [KRDO]

Ursula von der Leyen (European Parliament, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Embracing Green Hydrogen: African Energy Week In Cape Town Emphasizes African Hydrogen Opportunities” • Declining costs for fuel cells combined with technological innovation have made green hydrogen an enticing energy source, particularly for African markets, which are blessed with abundant renewable energy resources. [Africanews]

¶ “Floating Wind Pipeline Reaches 54 GW” • The global offshore floating wind project pipeline currently stands at over 54 GW if all are fully constructed, according to research by RenewableUK. Over half of this is in Europe. The pipeline includes projects from an early stage of development through to those which are fully operational. [reNEWS]

Floating offshore turbines (Flowocean, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “As Dark Clouds Build Across The Indo-Pacific, Australia Hopes The Aukus Pact Will Bolster Security And Confidence” • A new trilateral security arrangement announced by US president Joe Biden will see deeper Australian security ties with the US and UK. The US and UK supply Australia with nuclear submarines under the agreement. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ “Climate Measures In Budget Bill Could Cut Nearly 1 Billion Tons Of Emissions Per Year By 2030, Analysis Finds” • Six major climate provisions in congressional Democrats’ massive budget bill could reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 1 billion tons per year by 2030, according to a study from the nonpartisan Rhodium Group. [CNN]

Wind turbines (Irina Iriser, Pexels)

¶ “Late-Night Hosts Join Forces For First Ever ‘Climate Night'” • Late night TV is stepping up for the planet. Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee, James Corden, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and Trevor Noah will unite across networks on September 22 for “Climate Night,” focusing their programming on climate change. [CNN]

¶ “Details Of The House’s US EV Incentives Proposal” • The House Ways and Means Committee, which writes the tax code, worked through the energy portions of the Build Back Better Act. They reimagined the EV tax credit that consumers can get when they buy a new EV and added a credit for the second owner of the EV as well. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.4 EV (Volkswagen image)

¶ “WattEV To Break Ground On Solar Charging Station For Heavy-Duty Trucks” • WattEV, based in California, will begin construction next month on that state’s first solar-powered charging station exclusively for heavy-duty trucks up to 80,000 lb GVWR. Located in Bakersfield, it will feature a 5-MW solar array plus battery storage. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Public Service Company Of Oklahoma Issues RFPs For Renewable Energy” • Public Service Company of Oklahoma has issued a Draft 2021 Wind purchase and sale agreements RFP to obtain up to 2,600 MW of wind energy resources through multiple PSAs for purchase of 100% equity interest in the project companies selected. [North American Windpower]

Wind turbines (Arteum.ro, Unsplash)

¶ “Tesla Cuts Cost Of Solar Panels And Solar Roof With New $500 Referral Bonus” • Tesla provides solar power systems at one of the lowest prices in the industry: currently about $2.01/watt before incentives. Now, Tesla is offering a new incentive to those considering the purchase of a Tesla solar panel or solar roof system: $500 cash back. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Governor JB Pritzker Signs Legislation On Climate Change And Renewable Energy” • Illinois is the first state in the Midwest to enact legislation combating the climate crisis and to build an economy for the future. Gov JB Pritzker signed legislation that requires fossil fuel power plants to close over time and rescues money-losing nuclear plants. [HOI ABC]

Have a superbly enchanting day.

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World:

¶ “Sweden Is Home To One Of The World’s Tallest Wooden Structures” • The Swedish city of Skellefteå, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, is home to a new performing arts center and hotel constructed entirely of wood. Designed by White Arkitekter, it features a 20-story hotel that springs from the Sara Cultural Center below. [CleanTechnica]

Sara Kulturhus (White Arkitekter image)

¶ “Fast Charger Network – If You Build It, They Will Come” • The Australian states are falling over each other to bring fast chargers to the public. Western Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales all have impressive projects supporting EVs in the works. Now, New South Wales is planning to install 1000 “fast” charging bays along major routes. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Wärtsilä Is Swapping Batteries For Waterway Vessels In The Netherlands” • Wärtsilä has come up with a mobile battery swapping system to help power and re-power electric waterway vessels. This may be an old idea, but it’s new in the real world. The first order, for an initial 3 units, was just placed and fulfilled in June in the Netherlands. [CleanTechnica]

Wärtsilä marine battery swapping (Wärtsilä image)

¶ “Japanese Firms Strike Australian Green Hydrogen Deal” • Four large Japanese companies have signed a MOU to explore large scale green hydrogen generation in Australia. The agreement with Stanwell Corporation and APT Management Services Pty, is to implement a joint feasibility study of the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project. [reNEWS]

¶ “Ford Mustang Mach-E Police Car Now An Option In UK” • Police officers in the UK could soon be rolling around in style thanks to the police Mustang Mach-E. Ford indicates that the offering is actually the case of abundant customer inquiries, rather than Ford pushing sales. UK police forces were reportedly asking about buying the EVs. [CleanTechnica]

UK Mustang Mach-E police car (Ford image)

¶ “Proposed Power Market Reforms Could Reduce Renewable Energy Costs Further” • A new briefing note by Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis says the proposed reforms to the design of India’s electricity market will help pave the way for the rollout of large-scale, ultra-low-cost variable renewable energy. [pv magazine India]

¶ “Coal On Way Out As Renewable Energy Costs Hit Record Lows In India” • South Asia has a pre-construction pipeline of 37.4 GW of new coal projects. India’s 21-GW pipeline accounts for 56% of this. However, new coal facilities do not make economic sense for India anymore. Renewable energy is better, cheaper, and quicker. [Times of India]

Coal mining equipment (Albert Hyseni, Unsplash)

¶ “France To Add 3.7 GW Of Solar Capacity With €5.7 Billion In Aid” • France is set to expand its portfolio of renewable energy capacity by adding 3,700 MW of solar energy using €5.7 billion ($6.7 billion) in funding approved by the European Commission. The aid is to help France to achieve its 2030 carbon emissions reduction target. [Smart Energy International]

US:

¶ “Pair Of California Wildfires Now Threatening Some Of The World’s Largest Trees” • Wildfires in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains have forced much of Sequoia National Park to close. Two-thirds of all the Sierra Nevada’s giant sequoia grove acreage had already burned in wildfires of 2015 through 2020, according to the National Park Service. [CNN]

KNP Complex Fire (KNP Complex Fire Incident Command)

¶ “The Company Behind Tide And Bounty Pledges Net Zero Emissions By 2040” • Procter & Gamble is launching a new climate goal that reduces the pollution generated by the company’s vast supply chain. P&G told CNN it plans to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its operations and supply chain by 2040. [CNN]

¶ “Clean Trucks New York Program to Bring Significant Benefits” • New York Governor Hochul gave the green light last week for the state to move forward with the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. The directive to the Department of Environmental Conservation represents one of her Administration’s first actions to mitigate climate and air pollution. [CleanTechnica]

Electric sanitation truck (Photo courtesy of Volvo Group)

¶ “JB Straubel Plans Circular Supply Chain For Batteries, With Emphasis On USA” • JB Straubel, Tesla co-founder and former CTO wants to bring more battery production to the US. A big part of his plan involves ramping up the recovery of essential battery raw materials such as lithium, nickel, copper, and cobalt by recycling old batteries. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Activism Works! Harvard Will Divest From All Fossil Fuels” • In an open letter to the Harvard community, President Lawrence Bacow announced that the Harvard Management Company is in the process of removing the university from all investments in fossil fuels. While the letter does not use the word “divestment,” it is clear that is what is happening. [CleanTechnica]

Harvard University (Image via Harvard Press Kit)

¶ “President Joe Biden Turns To Colorado To Pitch Investments In Clean Energy” • While legislators in Washington craft details, President Joe Biden is pitching his massive domestic spending package with a visit to NREL in Colorado. He is highlighting how the investments in clean energy in his plan would help combat climate change. [CBS Denver]

¶ “NRC Backs Storing Nuclear Waste In Texas” • The NRC has approved a private company’s plan to store nuclear waste in West Texas. The agency authorized Interim Storage Partners LLC “to receive, possess, transfer and store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent fuel and 231.3 metric tons of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste for 40 years.” [Power Magazine]

Have a gorgeously easy day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Yet Another New Energy Storage Option For Carbon-Free Grid By 2035” • Large scale energy storage is the key that opens the door to full and rapid decarbonization. A nickel-hydrogen rechargeable battery is the latest formula to step up to the task. Schlumberger’s New Energy branch announced an agreement with EnerVenue for the battery. [CleanTechnica]

Renewable energy (photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL)

¶ “World Now Sees Twice As Many Days Over 50°C” • The number of extremely hot days every year, when the temperature reaches 50°C, has doubled since the 1980s, a global BBC analysis found. The total number of days above 50°C (122°F) increased in each decade since 1980, rising from an average of 14 days per year n 1980-2009 to 26 in 2010-2019. [BBC]

World:

¶ “Norway’s Center-Left Defeats Solberg’s Conservative Rule” • The opposition Labor party has won Norway’s general election, bringing an end to eight years of conservative government under Erna Solberg. Norway’s biggest export is oil and the green party campaigned to close production down in a few years to curb the country’s carbon emissions. [BBC]

Historical district in Bergen (Michael Fousert, Unsplash)

¶ “Young People Very Worried: Survey” • A global survey shows the depth of anxiety many young people feel about climate change. Three-quarters of them said they thought the future was frightening. Over half (56%) say they think humanity is doomed. Over 45% of those questioned said feelings about the climate affected their daily lives. [BBC]

¶ “Electrifying Trucking From Delhi To Shenzhen And San Francisco” • EVs have emerged as an opportunity to move goods with substantially reduced emissions of CO₂ and other air pollutants. There are now over 215 zero-emissions commercial freight vehicle models available globally. The number expected to rise to over 240 by 2023. [CleanTechnica]

BYD truck (BYD image)

¶ “Another Carbon Capture & Storage Project Doesn’t Live Up To Its Targets” • Chevron has been the company behind what is reportedly the biggest CCS project in the world. The project, in Western Australia, is apparently a massive failure. It was to capture and store 80% of the CO₂ from the facility. It may have captured as little as 30%. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Siemens Gamesa Starts Production In Taiwan” • Siemens Gamesa’s factory in Taiwan will now commence full operation having completed its first offshore wind turbine nacelle assembly in August. The factory will support Ørsted’s 900-MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms, which will employ SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines. [reNEWS]

New Siemens Gamesa factory (Siemens Gamesa image)

¶ “US Will Help India With Its Target Of Achieving 450 GW Of Renewable Energy By 2030: John Kerry” • Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said that the US will assist India in attracting finance and technology so it can achieve its 450-GW renewable energy target for 2030, as announced earlier by Prime Minister Modi. [The Indian Express]

¶ “Ocean Winds And Aker Unveil 6-GW ScotWind Drive” • Aker Offshore Wind and Ocean Winds submitted joint bids totaling 6 GW of floating windpower in the ScotWind leasing round. The partnership revealed that it has submitted bids for several sites in the Outer Moray Firth using floating devices to deliver 6 GW of clean energy. [reNEWS]

Offshore wind turbine (Aker Offshore Wind image)

¶ “Iran Can Have Enough Uranium For A Nuke In One Month – Report” • In a worst-case scenario, the Islamic Republic of Iran has produced enough weapons-grade uranium to produce one nuclear weapon in as little as one month, a non-proliferation thin tank, the Institute for Science and International Security said in a newly released released. [Iran International]

US:

¶ “Nicholas Is Now A Hurricane That Threatens The Texas Coast With Heavy Rain And Storm Surges” • Nicholas strengthened into a hurricane and threatens to bring heavy rain, storm surges and strong winds to portions of the Texas Coast, the National Hurricane Center said. It said Nicholas could produce as much as 12 inches of rain or more in some areas. [CNN]

Expected rainfall from Nicolas (NOAA image)

¶ “Biden Pushes To Combat Climate Crisis While Surveying Wildfire Damage In Western US” • President Joe Biden surveyed wildfire damage in the Western US, using nearly every stop he made to illustrate how recent extreme weather events underscore the urgency of his economic agenda and its investments in the nation’s infrastructure. [CNN]

¶ “USDA Invests In Renewable Energy Infrastructure” • Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, announced that the USDA is investing $464 million to build or improve renewable energy infrastructure and to help rural communities, agricultural producers and businesses lower energy costs in 48 states and Puerto Rico. [Signals AZ]

Biogas and flowers (USDA image)

¶ “How Much Do Electric Vehicles Actually Displace Gasoline? 500 Million Gallons Displaced In 2020 In USA” • Each year, Argonne National Laboratory analyzes the amount of gasoline displaced by EVs. The most recent report says 500 million gallons went unburned in 2020 in the USA due to fully electric cars and plugin hybrids. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Energy Bill Heads To Pritzker, Who Says He Will Sign It” • The Illinois Senate passed an energy regulation overhaul bill and sent it to Gov JB Pritzker, who says he will sign it. The bill forces fossil fuel plants offline by 2045 and spends billions of dollars to subsidize renewable energy and to prevent closure of struggling nuclear power plants. [Illinois Newsroom]

Have a relaxingly lovely day.

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Opinion: 

¶ “Australia Is Shaping Up To Be The Villain Of COP26 Climate Talks” • If Australia’s allies were worried that the country might cause them problems at upcoming climate talks in Glasgow, the events of the past week should leave little doubt in their minds. Australia made clear that it plans to pursue a business-as-usual approach to the climate. [CNN]

Coal-burning plant in Victoria (Marcus Wong, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “How 3D Printing Could Help Save Hong Kong’s Coral” • Hong Kong is one of Asia’s most biodiverse cities and boasts more hard coral species than the Caribbean. But these corals are threatened by pollution and rapid urban development. One company says it has a solution: 3D-printed terracotta tiles designed to help corals grow and restore ocean life. [CNN]

¶ “NASA Administrator Bill Nelson Pushes Continued Climate Research And Aircraft Sustainability” • At a White House event, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson showed some of the progress his agency has made on combating climate change. He highlighted NASA’s bold plan to reduce aviation-related carbon emissions by over 3 billion gallons by 2030. [CleanTechnica]

Earth from the Moon (NASA image)

¶ “How India’s Air Pollution Is Being Turned Into Floor Tiles” • Smog is a leading cause of ill health around the world, but one Indian inventor hopes to make it easier to breathe by scrubbing soot from the air and recycling it. He grew up with asthma that was made worse by pollution, and he hopes his invention can help ease the pollution problem. [BBC]

World:

¶ “Record Number Of Environmental Activists Murdered” • A record number of activists working to protect the environment and land rights were murdered last year, according to a report by Global Witness. There were 227 people killed around the world in 2020, the highest number recorded for a second consecutive year, the report said. [BBC]

Óscar Eyraud, killed in his home in Mexico (Mexicali Resiste)

¶ “States With The Most Renewables Have The Least Expensive Wholesale Electricity” • Wholesale electricity spot prices in the two Australian states with the most renewable energy generation, South Australia and Tasmania, are the lowest in the nation and have been for years. This is good news for anyone who prefers clean energy over dirty. [SolarQuotes]

¶ “Shell Oil Looks To Become A Leader In Electric Vehicle Charging” • Shell is rapidly becoming a major player in the UK charging market. It now offers charging at numerous petrol stations, and will soon have charging at 100 supermarkets. Shell also aims to install 50,000 on-street public charging points in the UK over the next four years. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Model S charging up at a Shell gas station (Shell image)

¶ “GE Secures Permit For UK Blade Factory” • GE Renewable Energy secured planning approval for its Teesside offshore wind blade manufacturing plant in north-east England. LM Wind Power will operate the facility which will be dedicated to the production of its 107-meter-long offshore wind turbine blades, a key component of GE’s Haliade-X. [reNEWS]

¶ “UK To Offer £265 Million In Subsidies For Renewable Energy Developers” • Renewable energy developers will compete for a share in a £265 million pot as the government offers a milestone subsidy scheme later this year. Offshore wind farms are go get £200 million in funding, and £55 million will go to emerging renewable technologies. [The Guardian]

Offshore wind turbine (Grahame Jenkins, Unsplash)

¶ “China Opens First Plant That Will Turn Nuclear Waste Into Glass For Safer Storage” • China opened its first plant to turn radioactive waste into glass. The plant in Guangyuan in the province of Sichuan will be able to process several hundred cubic metres of high level radioactive waste each year, according to state media reports. [ABS-CBN News]

US:

¶ “Despite Climate Red Alert, Interior Department Moves On Gulf Lease Sale” • Despite clearly catastrophic climate change, the Interior Department decided to sell offshore leases of over 80 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico. It estimates the area will produce up to 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over 50 years. [CleanTechnica]

Offshore oil rig (Clyde Thomas, Unsplash)

¶ “What We Know So Far About The Democrats’ Big Spending Proposals” • Democrats in Congress are pushing ahead with a sweeping multi-trillion-dollar 10-year spending plan that marks the latest step in their drive to expand education, health care and childcare support, tackle the climate crisis and make further investments in infrastructure. [CNN]

¶ “Illinois Wind Feeds JPMorgan Chase” • Investment bank JPMorgan Chase is to buy 70% of the electricity from Algonquin Power & Utilities subsidiary Liberty’s 108-MW Shady Oaks 2 wind farm in Illinois. Shady Oaks 2 has 22 turbines generating 350,000 MWh per year. It is to supply about 14% of JPMorgan Chase’s global power needs. [reNEWS]

Wind turbines (Peter Franken, Unsplash)

¶ “Alabama Will Get A Li-Cycle Battery Recycling Facility” • Li-Cycle announced plans to build a lithium-ion battery recycling facility in Alabama. It will be its fourth planned commercial lithium-ion battery recycling facility and will be in Tuscaloosa. Other facilities are planned for Kingston, Ontario; Rochester, New York; and Gilbert, Arizona. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Over 700 Solar Companies Ask For Stronger Solar Legislation From Congress” • Solar power now provides nearly half of new power capacity in the US. But coal and natural gas power plants need to be retired more quickly than they have been. Over 700 solar companies are asking for stronger action from Congress in support of solar power. [CleanTechnica]

Have an astoundingly untroublesome day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Why Did 200 Bitcoin Miners And Oil & Gas Execs Just Have A Secret Meeting In Houston?” • Bitcoin uses massive amounts of energy. To grows, bitcoin needs to find more and more energy, all around the world, keeping dirty power alive. Recently, 200 bitcoin miners and Oil & Gas execs reportedly met in a private setting in Houston, Texas. [CleanTechnica]

Oil rig (Pixabay, Pexels, CC0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Cheaper Hydrogen Production” • Electrolytic hydrogen produced by renewable energy is seen as an environmentally friendly means to ameliorate climate change. A research team has introduced a novel and inexpensive material for electrodes that may provide for highly efficient, energy-saving hydrogen production. [ScienceDaily]

¶ “We Finally Know Why Icy Plumes Flare Ahead Of Deadly Supercell Storms” • Just before a severe thunderstorm produces a tornado, high winds, or hailstones, a plume of ice and water billows up above the top of the storm. Scientists now think they know why. Their research has implications for warning systems and for climate change. [ScienceAlert]

Plumes forming above a thunderstorm (NASA image)

¶ “How Can Scientists Predict the Future: The Importance of Climate Models” • Part of a scientist’s work in our disinformation environment is to persuade the public about how science works. Accurate, measured projections about the future are a necessary part of that. Accurate predictions about the climate depend on climate models. [Nature World News]

World:

¶ “XPeng P7 Tops China EV Startup Sales Chart In August – By Far” • It is interesting to see the EV sales competition among Chinese EV startups. No other country has as many competitive, successful, fast-blooming EV startups as China. I can’t even name them all. The most interesting ones for me, and many others, are XPeng and NIO. [CleanTechnica]

XPeng P7 (Jengtingchen, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Mining And Steel Company ArcelorMittal Plans $9 Billion Renewable Energy Investment In India” • ArcelorMittal, a huge mining and steel making company, announced plans to develop renewable energy assets in India. A 2.6 billion, 4.5-GW solar park in Rajasthan was proposed, reports say, and it may invest $6.8 billion in Gujarat. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “UK Legislation Will Require All New Homes To Have EV Chargepoints” • If pending UK legislation becomes law, all new homes built will include EV charging. New non-residential buildings will need to provide charging infrastructure per every five parking spaces. And other existing non-residential buildings are to have charge points. [CleanTechnica]

Devonshire Street, London (Philafrenzy, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “How A Revolutionary North Sea Green Energy Boom Will Trigger A Goldrush And Transform Scotland’s Debate On Independence” • Marco Alverà, CEO of Snam, a $15.4 billion gas infrastructure company, is working to make Snam transition from gas to green hydrogen. There are implications for Scottish independence. [The Herald]

¶ “Renewable Energy Increasingly Competitive to Coal” • A new report confirms the competitiveness of renewable energy sources and calls for a global shift away from coal. Renewable energy could save emerging countries around $156 billion. According to the IRENA report, the cost of renewable energy continues to drop dramatically. [Gilmore Health News]

Coal power plant (Wim van ‘t Einde, Unsplash)

¶ “Secretary Granholm And Minister Puri Relaunch The US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership” • Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri held a ministerial meeting of the US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership, building on decades of energy cooperation. [Department of Energy]

US:

¶ “Energy Secretary Visits NH Solar Project; Touts Infrastructure Bill” • Energy Secretary Granholm came to New Hampshire to talk about renewable energy and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in August. A recent DOE report found that solar energy could power 40% of the country’s electric energy by 2035. [New Hampshire Public Radio]

Visit to New Hampshire (Mara Hoplamazian, NHPR)

¶ “Member Co-Op Blasts ‘Hotel California’ Contracts With Regional Power Provider” • An electric cooperative wrangling with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association over local control and getting off coal has issued a public statement that it and fellow cooperatives still need the power supplier. Just not in its current form. [The Denver Post]

¶ “PG&E Rate Hike Approved To Pay For Diablo Canyon Power Plant Shutdown” • PG&E energy bills will see a small increase next year as the utility implements a rate hike to help pay for the decommissioning of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant near San Luis Obispo. The California Public Utilities Commission okayed the increase. [Noozhawk.com]

Have an overwhelmingly friendly day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Seeking Solar Power For All Puerto Rican Homes” • Residents of Puerto Rico are ready for energy democracy. Specifically, a resilient, renewable electricity system with equitably shared benefits. Is this vision possible for the island, whose democratic power is limited to begin with? Environmental engineer Ingrid Vila comments in a podcast. [CleanTechnica]

Solar Decathlon (US DOE via flickr, CC-BY-ND 2.0)

¶ “Electric Cars Are Coming, No Matter What Some Media And Critics Say” • As it becomes clearer that electric transportation is the future, the haters, Luddites, and boo-birds are out in full force. Every single day I see a slew of anti-EV material online. Some of these are articles in reputable media. But say what they will, the EVs are coming. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “20 Years After 9/11, Yankee’s Nuclear Fuel Still Poses Security Risk” • The Vermont Department of Health still plans for the worst. But the Vermont Yankee site is not as bad as it could have been six years ago, when the reactor shut down. The nuclear fuel has been moved out of the reactor core and put into giant steel and concrete casks. [Brattleboro Reformer]

Vermont Yankee in 2012 (NRC image, CC-BY-ND 2.0)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Scaling Up Microgrids With Efficient, User-Friendly Software” • Microgrids are all the rage, and they have been for a few years. The problem lies in implementation. Here is a software system with integrated design stages and a user-friendly experience that allows anyone from bankers to engineers to plan, visualize, and optimize a project. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “The Future Of Agriculture Combined With Renewable Energy Finds Success At Jack’s Solar Garden” • A 24-acre family farm purchased by Jack Stingerie in 1972 has evolved into a model for how to produce energy and food in tandem. Jack’s Solar Garden is the largest commercially active agrivoltaics system in the US, combining agriculture with PVs. [CleanTechnica]

Byron Kominek, owner (Werner Slocum, NREL)

World:

¶ “Renewable Energy Sector Poised To Receive $200 Million Of Inflows Over Next 6-8 Months” • Sri Lanka’s renewable energy sector is likely to see $200 million worth of foreign inflows from the banking sector over the next six to eight-month horizon, as the government moves to commit to 70% renewable energy for electricity by 2030. [Daily Mirror]

¶ “Will Lebanon’s Solar Rise?” • Lebanon has been going through a rough time of late. An explosion in the port killed 200 people. The country defaulted on bonds and fell economically. Now, there was a glimpse of hope stemming from the involvement of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the design of solar tenders. [PV Magazine]

Rooftop solar (Lebanese Center for Energy Conservation)

¶ “JV With TEDA, SECI To Help Run Metro Rail On Renewable Energy” • The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency has floated a subsidiary company, Tamil Nadu Renewable Energy Park Ltd, to carry out the business of generation and aggregation of renewable energy, and supply to captive consumers through the joint venture model. [DTNext]

¶ “RWE Plans Norwegian Floating Wind Bid” • RWE and two local companies are partnering to participate in the Norwegian government’s tender process for floating offshore windpower. The trio will bid to build projects in the Utsira Nord zone, 30 km off the coast of Norway. The zone offers an opportunity to build up to 1.5 GW of capacity. [reNEWS]

Tetraspar demo (Stiesdal Offshore Technology)

¶ “UK Ministers ‘Met Fossil Fuel Firms Nine Times As Often As Clean Energy Ones’” • UK government ministers held private meetings with fossil fuel and biomass energy producers roughly nine times as often as they met companies involved in clean energy production, despite the increasing urgency of meeting the government’s climate targets. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ “New York City Plans Major Expansion Of EV Charging Stations” • There may be an answer to EV charging for residents of New York City. According to Staten Island Live, the city will create one of the country’s largest electric vehicle charging networks over the next 10 years in an effort to reduce the its greenhouse gas emissions. [CleanTechnica]

New York City (Daryan Shamkhali, Unsplash)

¶ “Peoria Welcomes Electric Transit Buses ElBae And Friends” • In Illinois, the Greater Peoria Mass Transit District is celebrating the launch of an electric bus it purchased with a $1.23 million grant from the Edwards Settlement Fund. The bus will join two identical models CityLink purchased with funding from the Federal Transit Administration. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Campbell Celebrates Growth Of Renewable Power Use In Louisiana” • The transition to clean energy for Louisiana took another step forward with the start-up of the second of three planned SWEPCO wind farms in Oklahoma. The 287-MW Maverick wind farm is now providing more clean energy for Louisiana customers. [Bossier Press-Tribune]

Wind farm in Oklahoma (USGS image, public domain)

¶ “Morrisville Salvage Yard’s New Solar Array Helps Power The Community” • Encore Renewable Energy and VPPSA put a 2.1-MW community solar array into commission at a former auto salvage yard in Morrisville, Vermont, they announced. The PV project is part of ar partnership to develop, finance, and build 10 MW of PVs. [Vermont Business Magazine]

¶ “Illinois Legislature Edges Closer To Saving Two Nuclear Power Plants” • The Illinois House late on Thursday passed an energy bill with nearly $700 million in incentives for two Exelon Corp nuclear power plants, taking the legislature closer to saving the plants the company said it will close starting on Monday. The Senate is expected to vote quickly. [StreetInsider]

Have a comfortably grand day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “New Master Roadmap Guides Industries To Invest In Low-Cost, Low-Energy Ways To Recycle Wastewater And Treat Salt Water” • In the US, the National Alliance for Water Innovation published a master roadmap to help guide future technology investments to help keep crops watered, livestock well-fed, and people provided with water. [CleanTechnica]

Irrigation ditch in Colorado (Jeffrey Beall, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

World:

¶ “Tesla Is Building An Energy Trading Team” • Tesla does more than EVs, batteries, and solar panels. It is also making moves to become an energy company. It recently applied to be an energy supplier in the UK and in Texas. And now, according to Reuters, it is looking to build an energy trading team based on a post found on LinkedIn. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Climeworks Direct Carbon Capture Facility Goes Live In Iceland” • Climeworks, a Swiss startup, proposes to suck CO₂ out of the atmosphere. Its first test facility, called Orca, is now operational on a lava flow in southwest Iceland. The installation is expected to capture 4000 metric tons of CO₂ annually at a cost of around $800 a ton. [CleanTechnica]

Climeworks Orca facility (Climeworks image)

¶ “Revised Renewable Targets And Auction Mechanism To Drive Renewable Market In India” • According to GlobalData’s latest report on the Indian power market, its renewable power capacity is expected to increase from 91.4 GW in 2020 to 310.9 GW in 2030, with an impressive Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 13% during the decade. [Power Technology]

¶ “Audi Ur Quattro Gets Million-Dollar All-Electric Rebirth” • A company called ELegend is bringing the Audi Ur Quattro back, electric-style. There’s more to this car than old-school looks and big-time modern power. Clever design choices abound. One detail that no one will miss, however, is the price tag, which is over $1 million. [CleanTechnica] (Excuse?)

ELegend EV (Elegend)

¶ “NSW Can ‘Absolutely’ Stop Using Coal Power By 2030, Energy Minister Says” • New South Wales can “absolutely” stop using coal power by 2030, the state’s energy and environment minister has said. He declared the state will not appeal a landmark court judgment ruling that regulators must do more to protect it from the climate crisis. [The Guardian]

¶ “RWE Hails 525-MW German Offshore Win” • RWE is toasting success in the latest German offshore wind auction which saw the company secure two sites totaling 525 MW. In the North Sea, RWE won the lease for a project with a capacity of up to 225 MW. The company also won a second site in the Baltic Sea with a potential capacity of 300 MW. [reNEWS]

Offshore wind turbines (Nicholas Doherty, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “House Lawmakers Release Early Details Of Program That Would Overhaul Electricity Sector And Reduce Fossil Fuel Emissions” • Lawmakers in the House released early details of a clean electricity program, which Democrats say would reduce fossil fuel emissions by moving the US electric grid to 80% clean energy, like solar and wind. [CNN]

¶ “Democrats’ Clean Electricity Program Would Create Nearly Eight Million Jobs By 2031, Analysis Shows” • A report by the independent firm Analysis Group finds that if Congress passes a $150 billion Clean Electricity Payment Program, it would cause the US workforce to grow by 7.7 million new jobs and add nearly $1 trillion to the economy by 2031. [CNN]

Solar array (American Public Power Association, Unsplash)

¶ “Louisiana Areas Hardest-Hit By Hurricane Ida Need A Fundamental Change In How They’re Protected, Official Says” • Louisiana officials are discussing new ways to safeguard areas outside the state’s flood protection system that suffered severe destruction from Hurricane Ida’s landfall. In Jefferson Parish, up to 50% of the houses were destroyed. [CNN]

¶ “This Summer Tied The Dust Bowl For The Hottest On Record In US” • The summer of 2021, which produced numerous extreme weather and climate disasters, was also the hottest on record in the US, tying with the Dust Bowl summer of 1936, according to the NOAA. The average temperature was 2.6°F above the 20th-century average. [CNN]

Dust storm in Texas, 1935 (George E. Marsh Album, NOAA)

¶ “New York Governor Signs Bill Bill Banning Sale Of ICE Vehicles After 2035” • New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation banning the sale of passenger cars and light duty trucks with infernal combustion engines by 2035. This makes New York the second US state to ban conventional cars and trucks, after California. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Enel Greens American Football Stadium” • Enel Green Power North America is working with Kraft Sports and Entertainment to ensure that all New England Patriots’ American football games in the 2021 season at the Gillette Stadium are more sustainable with clean energy. Enel will supply the stadium with clean energy through renewable energy credits [reNEWS]

Gillette Stadium (Enel image)

¶ “US Duo Sign 120-MW Solar-Plus-Storage PPA” • Hoosier Energy and Clenera affiliate Rustic Hills Solar signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for electricity from a 120-MW solar+storage project. Rustic Hills will occupy about 640 acres (259 hectares) of private land in Warrick County, Indiana. It is expected to be operating in 2023. [reNEWS]

¶ “House Passes Energy Bill With Labor, Environmental Groups On Board” • The Illinois House approved an energy regulation and decarbonization bill, a big step forward for a wide-ranging omnibus bill that had eluded lawmakers for some time. The bill also provides more than $600 million over five years to three struggling nuclear plants. [Illinois Newsroom]

Have an endlessly amusing day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Is This Controversial Money Manager And Tesla Bull Changing The Face Of Wall Street?” • In a profile in the New York Times, Matt Phillips calls Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of investment management firm Ark Invest, “the most influential investor at work in the markets today,” and gives her credit for developing a new style of investing. [CleanTechnica]

Ark Invest Founder Cathie Wood (Cathie Wood via Twitter)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Fossil Fuels Must Stay Underground, Scientists Say” • Almost 60% of oil and gas reserves and 90% of coal must remain in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5°C, scientists say. The forecast is based on close analysis of global energy supply and demand. They say it is a “bleak” but realistic assessment of “what the science tells us is needed.” [BBC]

World:

¶ “Almost ⅓ of Trucks Tested in Spain Emit Dangerous Levels of Air Pollution” • Nearly a third of trucks in Spain exceed the EU’s legal emission limits, testing in Barcelona and Madrid indicates. This is despite high NO₂ emissions from road transport being a serious public health concern, causing the premature deaths of 50,000 Europeans every year. [CleanTechnica]

Trucks on the road (Ümit Yıldırım, Unsplash)

¶ “Tesla Completes V3 Supercharger Factory In Shanghai” • Tesla has reportedly completed a small factory in Shanghai that will manufacture 10,000 advanced V3 Superchargers per year. Kyle Field of CleanTechnica got a chance to try one out and reports it can deliver up to 250 kW of power, enough to add 178 miles of range in just 15 minutes. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Volkswagen Says It Will Lease Used EVs To Maintain Control Over Its Batteries” • At the Munich auto show, Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess said his company plans to offer leases on its used EVs as a way to maintain control over their batteries. This will allow the company to recycle the valuable battery packs into new uses. [CleanTechnica]

Dr Herbert Diess (Image courtesy of Volkswagen AG)

¶ “China’s Hydro Storage Plan Aims To Boost Renewable Energy Use” • China released a plan that sets out measures to develop its pumped hydro storage system by 2035, in an effort to increase renewable energy consumption and ensure stable grid operation. It aims to launch more than 62 GW of pumped hydro storage in 2025 and 120 GW in 2030. [Reuters]

¶ “Chile’s Power Auction Wraps Up For Average Price Of $23.78 Per MWh” • Five renewable energy companies were declared winners in Chile’s technology neutral power auction for 2,310 GWh/year for 15 years. The average price was $23.78 per MWh from solar, wind, and storage projects with a total of 2,000 MW of installed capacity. [Renewables Now]

Sonnedix Atacama solar farm (Sonnedix, sonnedix.com)

¶ “Renewable Energy Prominent In Queensland’s $52.2 Billion Infrastructure Pipeline” • The Queensland government will pour more than $580 million into increasing electricity network capacity and replacing ageing assets as part of a $52.2 billion infrastructure program designed to transform the state into a clean energy superpower. [pv magazine Australia]

¶ “Ofgem Warns Soaring Gas Prices Will Feed Into Customer Bills” • Ofgem said that UK household energy bills will be hit by soaring global prices of fossil fuels. The typical gas and electricity customer is likely to see their bill go up by £139 to £1,277 a year from October. Outages at gas and nuclear plants and reduced gas availability have been a problems. [BBC]

Pump jack (Pixabay, Pexels)

¶ “Global Windfarm Installations Expected To Surge After Covid Drop, Says Report” • The Global Wind Energy Council’s annual report found that the world’s offshore windfarm capacity grew by 6.1 GW last year, down slightly from a record 6.24 GW in 2019. It expects it to grow to more than 12 GW in 2021 powered by an offshore wind boom in China. [The Guardian]

US:

¶ “Biden Wants An Aggressive Transition To Electric Vehicles. A Surprising Ally Is Pumping The Brakes” • In August, President Joe Biden announced a target to have half of the vehicles sold in the US be battery electric, fuel-cell electric, or plug-in hybrid by 2030. But the United Autoworkers Union, one of Biden’s oldest political allies is resisting. [CNN]

Assembly line (Siyuwj, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Biden Administration Says Solar Energy Has The Potential To Power 40% Of US Electricity By 2035” • The Solar Futures Study, from the US DOE shows how solar energy could play a massive role in transitioning the US power sector to clean energy and achieve the President’s ambitious goals to decarbonize the American economy. [CNN]

¶ “New Data Sound Good For Wind Energy” • Wind plant owners and wind turbine manufacturers are using a new technique to increase the performance of wind plants as a whole called wake steering. Some researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have been studying resulting noise production. The results are good news. [CleanTechnica]

Wind turbines (Dennis Shroeder, NREL)

¶ “US Renewable Energy Sees Record Growth” • Renewable energy saw record growth in the first six months of 2021 and now accounts for 25% of all the electricity capacity in the US, up from 23% a year ago. An increase of two percentage points may not sound like a lot but it shows that the US energy sector is headed in the right direction. [Treehugger]

¶ “La Mesa Opts-Up To 100% Clean, Renewable Energy From SDCP” • The City of La Mesa is taking action for its municipal accounts and opting to enroll in San Diego Community Power’s 100% renewable Power100 program. SDCP is a not-for-profit community choice energy agency, providing carbon-free, and cost-competitive energy. [Patch]

Have a remarkably pleasant day.

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Science and Technology:

¶ “Floating Solar Plus Wave Energy Smackdown For Fossil Fuels” • A new EU clean power project pairs floating solar with offshore wind turbines. If all goes according to plan, the waters of the EU will be peppered with wave conversion devices as well as floating solar panels. These technologies can co-use transmission lines with offshore wind farms. [CleanTechnica]

Wave energy (Image courtesy of CorPower Ocean)

¶ “Embodied Energy – A Great Tool To Think About Climate Solutions” • The term embodied energy refers to the amount of energy used to bring a product through its life cycle. The energy to make, process, and ship the product, along with disposing of anything left of it, is embodied. The amount of it in a product is significant for the climate. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “NIO’s Been Making EV Battery Swapping More Efficient” • NIO has been working on solutions to improve the efficiency and convenience of battery swapping. A few months ago, NIO rolled out its first NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 in Beijing, at Sinopec’s Chaoying Station. The system is capable of completing up to 312 battery swaps per day. [CleanTechnica]

Battery swapping by NIO (Image by NIO)

World:

¶ “New Coal Plants Could Hit India’s Renewable Energy Goal” • Proposed new coal-based power plants with a total output of 27 GW could jeopardise India’s target of 450 GW renewable energy by 2030, according to a new report. These surplus plants would require $33 billion of investment, but are projected to lie idle or operate inefficiently. [Deccan Herald]

¶ “BMW Ups Battery Cell Orders, Plans Recyclable Car For 2040” • BMW showed off its CirCular concept car, which it says is fully recyclable, at the Munich Motor Show. It also upped its orders for battery cells from €12 billion to €20 billion. The battery cells for its future EVs are expected to come from CATL, EVE Energy, SK Innovation, and Northvolt. [CleanTechnica]

BMW CirCular concept car (BMW image)

¶ “Amazon Signs First Renewable Energy Purchase Agreement In Japan” • Online retail giant Amazon signed a 10-year corporate power purchase agreement with Mitsubishi Corporation. The agreement is for the output from 22 MW of solar from 450 separate PV plants. The PPA represents Amazon’s first renewable energy deal in Japan. [PV Tech]

¶ “Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Launches Recyclable Turbine Blade” • Wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announced the launch of the “world’s first” recyclable commercial turbine blade. The 81-meter blades allow recyclers to separate their component materials more easily at the end of the blades’ lifespan. [Power Technology]

Offshore wind farm (RWE image)

¶ “Invenergy, BW Offshore Unveil ScotWind Plans” • Invenergy and BW Offshore have announced a joint venture to develop up to 5,400 MW of offshore windpower as part of the first ScotWind leasing round. The joint venture will focus on developing both floating and fixed foundation offshore wind projects off the north east coast of Scotland. [reNEWS]

¶ “Russian Developer Delivers 120-MW Bondarevskaya Wind” • Rosatom subsidiary Novawind JSC started supplying electricity from the 120-MW Bondarevskaya wind farm in Russia. The wind project comprises 48 turbines. NovaWind plans to commission another wind farm in the same area for 60 MW more capacity by the end of the year. [reNEWS]

Wind farm (NovaWind image)

¶ “Are Solar And Wind The Cheapest Forms Of Energy?” • Professor Alistair Sproul, Head of School of University of New South Wales’ School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, says the plummeting cost of producing renewable energy now makes it inevitable that burning coal and gas will soon be consigned to history. [UNSW Newsroom]

US:

¶ “Environmental Groups Ask Congress To Fund Billions Of Dollars In Climate Measures In Reconciliation” • As Democratic lawmakers begin crafting a $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, a coalition of prominent environmental groups is asking them to include between $577 billion and $746 billion for key climate provisions. [CNN]

Wind farm (Harry Cunningham, Pexels)

¶ “Oil Leak Off The Coast Of Louisiana Spread For Miles And No One Knows Who Is Responsible” • It seems that the oil leak is from a pipeline that is no longer used. A GAO report says, “Pipelines can contain oil or gas if not properly cleaned in decommissioning.” It said 18,000 miles of pipelines still sit in place after their use has ended. [CNN]

¶ “Biden Administration Asks For Billions In ‘Urgent’ Disaster And Refugee Funding In Request To Keep The Government Running” • The Biden administration is asking for billions of dollars for “urgent” extreme weather recovery efforts and the resettlement of Afghan refugees in its proposal to keep the government funded past September 30. [CNN]

Fire (Thomas Ehling, Unsplash)

¶ “Growing A Zero-Emissions Transportation Ecosystem In Cincinnati” • Servall Electric, which has served the area around Cincinnati for generations, is helping the city electrify in more ways than one. The family-owned company, which is installing EV charging stations, also plans to transition its entire fleet of 25 to 30 vehicles to electric. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “House Lawmakers Back To Springfield On Thursday To Address Long-Awaited Energy Bill – Passage Called ‘Possible’” • The Illinois House plans to return to Springfield after dealings on energy legislation appear to have progressed. Some lawmakers are hopeful that inefficient nuclear plants can be saved and coal-burning plants closed. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Have an acceptably superior day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The US And China Can’t Get Along – Even If The Planet’s Future Is At Stake” • Despite facing a common threat, China and the United States, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, are still at odds on climate action. US climate officials tried to separate climate issues from differences on other topics. Chinese officials would not allow that. [CNN]

John Kerry in talks with China (US State Department via AP)

¶ “Riding Out Ida: Loss Of Communications, Extreme Heat With No Power, Help From SpaceX – Is This The New Normal?” • It’s been a hell of a week, to say the least. I think this is the first article I’ve written since the storm hit. I lost power and turned to the emergency weather radio station. It went offline, and along with it, all communications. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Ida Is Proof That Louisiana Needs To Embrace Building Microgrids” • After Hurricane Ida, power and communications are out here in Louisiana. We need microgrids, but our leaders don’t seem to want them. Advocates have been trying for years to make our local grid resilient, but our leaders refuse to do things that benefit everyone. Why? [CleanTechnica]

Model of microgrid (NREL image)

World:

¶ “Climate Change Fight Will Be Six Times More Costly” • A study by an international team of scientists published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, found that the economic damage from climate change could be six times higher by the end of this century than previously estimated. Earlier analysis ignored important risks. [Technology Times]

¶ “Vattenfall Inaugurates 604-MW Danish Kriegers Flak” • Vattenfall has officially inaugurated the 604-MW Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm off the coast of Denmark. Kriegers Flak is Scandinavia’s largest offshore wind farm and will increase Danish wind power production by 16%, Vattenfall said. It is in the Baltic Sea, 15 km to 40 km off the Danish coast. [reNEWS]

Kriegers Flak wind farm (Vattenfall image)

¶ “Indonesia Still Clinging To Coal Despite Phaseout Pledge, New Plan Shows” • The Indonesian government has walked back an earlier pledge to phase out all coal-fired power plants, saying now that it will keep them running but fit them with carbon capture technology. Experts have questioned the technical and financial feasibility of the plan. [Mongabay]

Australia:

¶ “Australia Stands By Coal ‘Beyond 2030’ After UN Warns Of Economic Havoc” • The Australian government said that the country would keep producing and exporting coal “well beyond 2030,” despite a stark warning from a top UN climate official that failing to scrap the fossil fuel will “wreak havoc” on the Australian economy. [CNN]

Coal-burning power plant (Loïc Manegarium, Pexels)

¶ “BP Sizes Up Former Oil Refinery As Industrial Renewable Hydrogen Hub” • The site of what was once Australia’s largest oil refinery is being sized up as a renewable hydrogen hub, complete with large-scale electrolyser. It is part of a feasibility study being conducted by BP Australia and Macquarie Capital, and backed by the state government. [Renew Economy]

¶ “Caterpillar And BHP Plan To Create Battery-Powered Mining Trucks” • Caterpillar and BHP are partnering up to develop battery-powered mining trucks to support customers’ climate-related goals. BHP is one of Caterpillar’s largest customers. It announced the agreement with Caterpillar to develop large mining trucks with zero emissions. [CleanTechnica]

Caterpillar mining truck (Caterpillar image)

¶ “Australian Potash Plans Hybrid Renewable Energy Microgrid For Lake Wells Project” • Australian Potash announced plans for PWR Hybrid to build, own, and operate a hybrid microgrid at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project in Western Australia. The 35-MW microgrid will integrate a gas-fueled power station with solar PV, wind, and storage. [Stockhead]

US:

¶ “Plans For $400-Billion New City In The American Desert Unveiled” • The cleanliness of Tokyo, the diversity of New York and the social services of Stockholm: Billionaire Marc Lore has outlined his vision for a 5-million-person “new city in America” and appointed a world-famous architect to design it. All he needs is $400 billion and a place to build it. [CNN]

Proposed city (Bjarke Ingels Group and Bucharest studio)

¶ “Hurricane Ida Left A Louisiana Refinery Spewing Chemicals And An Oil Spill In The Gulf” • There were no communications for hours. Then I found that a Shell refinery is spewing toxic chemicals into the air. The New York Times reported that satellite images found an oil spill in the Gulf after Ida. People living in polluted air have no safe water. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “What A Hurricane Means When You Live In Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley'” • The stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is home to a concentration of chemical, petroleum and other industrial facilities, dozens of which have reported releases of toxic carcinogens in the past. Hurricane Ida passed directly through this corridor. [CNN]

Refinery in Baton Rouge (formulanone, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Texas Eyeballs 91,000 MW Of Solar Power” • Dallas Morning News points out that the need for additional transmission lines is one of the roadblocks between Texas and all 91,000 MW of that new solar power. But the growing number of green hydrogen fans in the state may have a solution to that: Use solar energy to make green hydrogen. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “GE May Sell Another Piece Of Its Power Business” • Over the past several years, General Electric has divested assets at a steady pace in an effort to simplify the company, exit less desirable lines of business, and shore up its balance sheet. It has already stopped building steam turbines for coal-fired plants. Now it may sell its nuclear turbine business. [The Motley Fool]

Have a monumentally creative day.

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Opinion:

¶ “New York City Was Never Built To Withstand A Deluge Like The One Ida Delivered – It Showed” • When the remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped more than 7 inches of rain on parts of New York City, officials and meteorologists seemed stunned by the devastating flooding that ensued. But Scientists have been warning about this for years. [CNN]

Closed subway station (Kches16414, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “How To Raise Revenue Quickly: End Fossil Fuel Handouts” • After a century of waste and mismanagement, the House Natural Resources Committee has released a budget proposal that would end a slew of harmful handouts to the fossil fuel industry, protect publicly owned resources, and raise significant new revenues for US taxpayers. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Investing In More Nuclear Power Can’t Be Our Solution To Climate Change” • No one has figured out how to safely dispose of deadly nuclear waste. Yet, to combat the climate crisis, the US and the world propose to create more by extending the lives of old nuclear plants and building new ones. Have we not learned anything from Chernobyl and Fukushima? [Patch]

Nuclear power plant (Pixabay, Pexels)

World:

¶ “More Than 230 Journals Warn 1.5°C Of Global Warming Could Be Catastrophic For Health” • Human health is already being harmed by the climate crisis, and the impacts could become catastrophic and irreversible unless governments do much more to address global warming, the editors of over 230 medical journals said in a joint editorial. [CNN]

¶ “Tesla May Receive €1.14 Billion Grant For German Battery Factory” • According to German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, Tesla is in line to receive a €1.14 billion ($1.35 billion) grant from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy to help build a new battery factory adjacent to its factory in Grünheide, near Berlin. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla Gigafactory in Germany (Tesla image)

¶ “Sixteen Countries Now Over 10% Plugin Vehicle Share, 6 Over 20%” • The plugin electric vehicle market has taken off in the past year, largely thanks to the EU requiring automakers to sell more EVs or pay big fines. All of a sudden, car makers have discovered that consumers will indeed buy millions of EVs if you produce them and market them well. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “A Decade Of Wind, Solar, And Nuclear In China Shows Clear Scalability Winners” • China surprised the world in 2020, as it deployed 72 GW of wind energy, a world record for a single country, and 48 GW of solar capacity, over 50% more than the previous year. Meanwhile, exactly zero nuclear reactors were commissioned in 2020. [CleanTechnica]

Wind farm in Inner Mongolia (Steven Buss, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “UK Energy Regulator Supports Vehicle-To-Grid Proposal” • Recently, Ofgem, the independent energy regulator for the UK, has unveiled a proposed new policy that would expand the availability of vehicle-to-grid technology in the UK. The policy would allow EV drivers to sell the energy stored in their car batteries back to the grid. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “South Korea To Diversify Utilization Of Animal Manure For Developing Efficient Biogas” • South Korea will embark on a state project to develop an efficient method of utilizing manure for such renewable resources as biogas. Biogas, largely consisting of methane, can be used as fuel for vehicles and such equipment as power plant turbines. [Aju Business Daily]

Cow (Flash Dantz, Unsplash)

¶ “Climate Change Means Australia May Have To Abandon Much Of Its Farming” • The findings of the IPCC suggest Australia may have to jettison tracts of the bush unless there is massive funding for climate-change adaptation and planning. Even if emissions are curtailed, Australia likely faces billions of dollars of costs for adaptation of rural communities. [Business Line]

¶ “Climate Change Pushes New Zealand To Warmest Recorded Winter” • For the three months through August, the average temperature was 9.8°C (50°F), according to New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. That’s 1.3°C above the long-term average and 0.2°C higher than the previous record posted last year. [CNBCTV18]

New Zealand (Aneta Foubíková, Pexels)

¶ “Mediclinic Walks The Talk, Forging $152 Million Renewable Energy Deal” • Mediclinic International, a private hospital group, is putting action behind its sustainable development strategy and walking the talk. It announced that its Southern African division had entered a $152 million deal to buy renewable electricity from Energy Exchange of Southern Africa. [IOL]

US:

¶ “NASA Begins Air Taxi Flight Testing With Joby” • NASA has begun flight testing Joby Aviation’s all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at Joby’s Electric Flight Base near Big Sur, California. It is the first time that NASA will test an eVTOL aircraft as part of its Advanced Air Mobility National Campaign. The tests will run to September 10. [CleanTechnica]

Joby’s eVTOL aircraft (Joby Aviation image)

¶ “US Civic Group Urges Transition To Renewable Energy Amid Frequent Natural Disasters” • The US must switch to renewable energy sources to protect communities across the country, which suffer from climate-related natural disasters that are becoming more frequent and deadly, the executive director of a civic group based in Louisiana told Sputnik. [Urdupoint.com]

¶ “Frustration With Power Outages Grows As Entergy Promises More Restorations Soon” • Entergy Louisiana’s CEO called Ida one of the utility’s most destructive storms ever. “Incredibly, the number of poles damaged or destroyed is already more than we saw in Louisiana from Katrina, Zeta, and Delta combined, by a large margin,” Phillip May said. [WWL-TV]

Have an unmistakably delightful day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The Truth New York City Cannot Avoid” • Four days after it hit New Orleans, at least 13 New Yorkers died when Hurricane Ida’s remnants hit the Big Apple, more than 1,300 miles away. So far, New York City has more fatalities reported than all of Louisiana. Climate change is scrambling all our assumptions for weather, resiliency, and emergency preparedness. [CNN]

Long Island Expressway (Tommy Gao, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Ida’s Reminder That Climate Policy Should Be Built On Resilience, Not Delusion” • Nine years after Hurricane Sandy, New York City’s preparedness for an aftershock from Hurricane Ida seemed less than impressive. This was not the only time something like this has happened recently. Part of the subway was flooded by Hurricane Elsa. [National Review]

Science and Technology:

¶ “Nearly 30% Of 138,000 Assessed Species Face Extinction, Group Warns” • In its annual Red List update, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature warned that 28% of the 138,374 species identified on its “survival watchlist” as under threat have now been moved to the more dangerous “red list,” meaning they are at high risk of extinction. [CNN]

Siberian Tiger (Dave Pape, released into the public domain)

World:

¶ “Volkswagen Has 25.5% Of BEV Sales In Denmark, Volkswagen Group 40.9%!” • Electric vehicle sales are booming in Europe, especially in some northerly nations. Denmark isn’t the largest or hottest auto market in the world, but its electric vehicle (BEV) sales are good and growing fast. In the first seven months of the year, VW had 25.5% of the market. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “IEEFA Says New Coal Power Plants In India Will Become Stranded Assets” • The Institute For Energy Economics And Financial Analysis says India is hell bent on building a fleet of new coal-fired generating stations, with 33 GW currently under construction and another 29 GW in pre-construction. The IEEFA says all will be stranded assets. [CleanTechnica]

Indian coal-burning plant (Epagemakerwiki, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Germany Hit Record 27.6% Plugin EV Share In August, And There’s More To Come” • Germany saw plugin electric vehicle share jump to a record 27.6% in August, more than doubling from the same month last year. Non-electrified combustion vehicle share fell to a record low 53.2% in an overall auto market that was down some 38% from 2019 levels [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Gone With The Wind: Why UK Firms Could Miss Out On The Offshore Boom” • Boris Johnson set out plans to add 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. The GMB trade union warned that the UK risks squandering a major economic benefit by allowing many of the components of its offshore wind boom to be made in Asia. [The Guardian]

Offshore wind turbines (Reegan Fraser, Unsplash)

US:

¶ “Opt-Out Community Choice Solar For Upstate New York” • Several communities in upstate New York are now part of an opt-out community choice program that will allow their residents to enjoy clean, emissions-free energy and lower utility bills. Opt-out means that everyone is enrolled in the program unless they want to pay extra for dirty power. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Houston-Based Quanta Services To Acquire Renewable Energy Infrastructure Co For $2.7 Billion” • Quanta Services, based in Houston, announced that it is to acquire Blattner Holding Company, which provides support for utility-scale renewable energy developers. At closing, Quanta will pay roughly $2.7 billion for Blattner. [BIC Magazine]

Power lines (Quanta Services Courtesy Photo)

¶ “New Mexico’s Key Environmental Regulators Seek Budget Bumps To Fund Climate Change Efforts” • About a third of New Mexico’s budget has come from oil and gas production in recent years. But renewables recently began growing in importance as the state government seeks to diversify the state’s economy and curb pollution. [Carlsbad Current-Argus]

¶ “How McLean County Wind Farms Contribute To Renewable Energy Push” • McLean County’s wind farms have churned out enough energy to power more than 250,000 homes while raking in millions of dollars in property taxes to the Illinois county. About 65% of those taxes, $38.3 million, have funded some local school districts since 2007. [The Pantagraph]

Have an invigoratingly comfy day.

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Opinion:

¶ “The World Needs Vastly More Green Electricity” • While perceptions about the consequence of the climate crisis may have advanced, reality has not. The majority of the world still relies on fossil fuels for heating, cooling, transportation, and manufacturing. It’s time to take decisive action and convert to green electricity. [CleanTechnica]

NREL’s Flatirons Campus near Boulder (Joshua Bauer, NREL)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Hybrid Power Plants And Flexibility – The Future Of The Grid” • Imagine an electric grid powered by clean energy. Now imagine that it has all the comfort and convenience consumers expect as well as grid reliability and resiliency services that are similar to or better than conventional plants. That is the promise of the FlexPower project. [CleanTechnica]

World:

¶ “John Kerry Is Pushing China To Do More On Climate. Beijing Is Pushing Back” • John Kerry is pressing Chinese officials to be more ambitious in their plans to move away from coal faster and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As he does, they push back to ask what could be done about US sanctions, according to Kerry’s own account of the talks. [CNN]

John Kerry in China (Image from the US Department of State)

¶ “Vietnamese Solar Power Plant Could Reach 2.8 GW Soon” • Vietnam has become a surprising solar power champion in the past year, having shot into the role in December 2020. And it seems happy to keep going. Recent news is that the largest solar park in Vietnam is set to get a big boost and get even significantly larger by early 2022. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Cost-Effective Energy Storage In South Asia” • A study team from NREL’s recently launched Grid Planning and Analysis Center evaluated storage growth for South Asia under various technology cost, policy, and regulatory scenarios. Their work revealed a range of trajectories for storage growth over the next three decades. [CleanTechnica]

Energy storage opportunities for South Asia (NREL image)

¶ “Russian Trio Plan 67-MW Wind Farm On Sakhalin” • Russian coal producer East Mining Company, the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, and the Sakhalin regional government signed an agreement to cooperate on a wind farm of over 67-MW on Russia’s Sakhalin island. It is to have 16 turbines operating in 2024. [reNEWS]

¶ “Ford Mustang Mach-E Sets 3 Guinness World Records In UK” • It is 1,407 km (874 miles) from John O’Groats at the northern tip of Scotland to Lands End, in Cornwall. A Ford Mustang Mach-E set a Guinness World Record for electric cars by averaging over 6.5 miles per kWh for that distance. The previous record, set by a Tesla, was 1.8 miles per kWh. [CleanTechnica]

Ford Mustang Mach-E (Ford image)

¶ “Engie To Provide Google’s German Operations With Energy from Renewables 24/7” • American technology company Google has signed a deal with energy firm Engie for renewable energy to power the tech firm’s operations in Germany. The deal means Google will have clean power for its data centers and offices on a 24/7 basis. [Power Engineering International]

¶ “OPEC Member Calls For Change, Urges Oil Producers To Invest More On Renewable Energy” • Iraq’s deputy prime minister, urged oil producers to seek “an economic rejuvenation based on ecologically sound policies and technology,” such as solar electricity and even nuclear reactors, to lessen their reliance on fossil fuel exports. [Nature World News]

Coal-burning power plant (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash)

¶ “‘India Can Produce 1,000 GW Solar Energy On 0.5% Of Land'” • In a talk to the International Climate Summit 2021, industrialist Mukesh Ambani outlined a roadmap for New Energy business, calling it the “next big value creation engine” for Reliance and India. He said Reliance Industries would “establish and enable” at least 100 GW of solar energy by 2030. [NDTV.com]

¶ “More Issues At Bruce Power Station Raise Concerns About Aging Nuclear Infrastructure” • Unexpectedly high levels of hydrogen in pressure tubes at the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station on the eastern shore of Lake Huron have renewed questions about how long Canada’s aging CANDU reactors can continue to operate safely. [The Globe and Mail]

Bruce Nuclear Generating Station (Chuck Szmurlo, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

US:

¶ “Will Hurricane Ida Cause A Spike In Covid-19?” • The fear is that the damage wrought by floods and winds will be made much worse by another scourge, the pandemic. Only a little over 40% of Louisiana’s population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and hospitals are already overburdened. Recovery from a major hurricane has complicated things greatly. [BBC]

¶ “Tesla To Provide Autopilot Data To NHTSA By October 22” • Teslas that are driving with Autopilot engaged have a distressing tendency to slam head on into emergency vehicles parked on the side of America’s highways. That has happened 12 times so far and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration wants to know why. [CleanTechnica]

Tesla autopilot driving (Tesla image)

¶ “Philadelphia Solar Plans 1-GW Solar Panel Factory On Back Of Biden’s Solar Support” • A solar panel manufacturer called Philadelphia Solar is planning to build a 1-GW solar factory in the US thanks to Biden’s “extensive support” for solar power. The solar factory is planned for completion in the third quarter of next year, 2022. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Duke Energy Can Save Billions Of Dollars Replacing Coal With More Renewables” • A report contends that by shifting to mostly solar, wind, and battery power to replace coal in meeting its Carolinas generation needs, Duke Energy Corp could cut carbon emissions 74% and save a total of $1.1 billion in generation costs by 2030. [The Business Journals]

Have a gloriously tranquil day.

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Opinion:

¶ “Climate Scientist: This Is A Dystopian Moment” • I’m a climate scientist. My colleagues and I have been warning for years that human-induced global warming will bring us a future of faster and more furious extreme weather events. But now the events are coming with such speed and ferocity that the moment can be called dystopian. [CNN]

Dystopian climate change (Pixabay, Pexels)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Arctic Warming Linked To Colder Winters” • A study shows that increases in extreme winter weather in parts of the US are linked to accelerated warming of the Arctic. The scientists found that heating in the region ultimately disturbed the circular pattern of winds known as the polar vortex. The Texas cold wave in February is an example. [BBC]

World:

¶ “Volkswagen Launches ID.3 And ID.4 Subscriptions” • Car subscriptions are getting more and more popular. Volkswagen is now offering them for the ID.3 and ID.4 in Germany. Customers can get these fully electric vehicles, maintenance, insurance, the registration, and taxes all handled, and more via the Volkswagen AutoAbo program. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen ID.4 (Dennis Elzinga, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “India, UK Agree On $1.2 Billion Investment In Green Projects, Renewable Energy” • India and the UK agreed on a $1.2 billion investment in green projects and renewable energy to boost India’s green growth ambitions at the 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue. This further drives an Enhanced Trade Partnership. [Free Press Journal]

¶ “Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Launches IPO” • Saudi Arabian utility developer ACWA Power made an announcement that it intends to proceed with its plan to float on the Riyadh bourse. The company, 50% owned by the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, plans to issue shares representing 11.1% of the company’s enlarged share capital. [Arab News]

Noor solar complex (Wikieliuser, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

¶ “Lenovo Is Committed To Procurement Of Clean Energy” • Lenovo’s latest environmental, social, and governance report outlines the companies prolonged commitment to sustainable development of its business practices. Determined to create a responsible operating model, Lenovo announced a target of 90% renewable energy use by 2026. [Energy Digital]

¶ “Renewable Power Generation Share In Denmark To Reach Nearly 100% In 2030, Says GlobalData” • Renewable power generation (excluding hydropower) in Denmark is expected to increase from 24.33 TWh in 2020 to 43.2 TWh by 2030, bringing its share from 86.4% as of 2020, to 99.9% in 2030 according to a report form GlobalData. [pv magazine India]

Solar Panels On Hjelm Island, 2005 (RSteen, CC-BY-SA 2.5)

¶ “Africa Needs To Invest $130 Billion Per Year To Go Net-Zero By 2050” • Africa needs investments to the tune of $130 billion annually to become a net-zero continent by 2050, a report by Friends of the Earth has suggested. The report, “A Just Recovery Renewable Energy Plan for Africa,” said Africa needs 300 GW of renewable energy by 2030. [Oil Price]

US:

¶ “At Least 46 People Have Died After Floodwaters From Ida’s Remnants Swamp Cities From Virginia To New England” • At least 46 people have died in six Eastern states – Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia – after the storm brought unprecedented rainfall to some areas. There are 23 known deaths in New Jersey. [CNN]

Flood in Pennsylvania (Michael M Stokes, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

¶ “Biden Says He’ll Press Congress On Infrastructure After Wildfires And Ida Wreak Havoc On Us: ‘The Climate Crisis Is Here'” • President Joe Biden said he plans to press Congress to take further action on his infrastructure proposals that he says will better prepare the nation for future natural disasters and the effects of climate change. [CNN]

¶ “Solar Activity Was At Record-High Level In USA In 2020” • In the US, solar PV module shipments rose to 21.8 million peak kW of solar power capacity in 2020, by far their best ever. In fact, that was 5.4 million peak kW above 2019’s total, their previous best. Rooftop solar installations grew, but larger installations grew even more. [CleanTechnica]

Solar module costs (US EIA graph)

¶ “Otter Tail Power To Sell Its Share Of Coyote Station By 2028” • Otter Tail Power Company plans to sell its share of the Coyote Station power plant near Beulah by 2028, reported Prairie Public. Otter Tail has a 35% ownership stake in the plant. The 420-MW facility, which opened in 1981, is supplied by North American Coal’s Coyote Creek Mine. [Star Tribune]

¶ “EDF Signs 300-MW Solar-Plus-Storage PPA In California” • EDF Renewables North America is to supply electricity from the 300-MW Desert Quartzite solar+storage project in California to Clean Power Alliance under a 15-year power purchase agreement. The facility will include a 600 MWh battery system. It is to be operating by February 2024. [reNEWS]

Solar array (Frederic Neema, EDF)

¶ “RWE Inks 200-MW US Battery Deal With LG” • RWE Renewables signed contracts with LG Energy Solution to provide an integrated battery energy storage system for two projects with co-located solar PV facilities in Texas. The contract secures more than 800 MWh of battery storage capacity deployed on over 200 MW of storage systems. [reNEWS]

¶ “Energy Bill Negotiations Head To House After Talks Once Again Derailed” • The Illinois Senate approved an energy bill that would subsidize nuclear plants and close coal plants, but it’s likely to change as negotiations continue in the House. Timelines for closing municipal coal-fired power plants continued to hold up the bill’s passage. [Pontiac Daily Leader]

Have an absolutely awesome day.

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World:

¶ “Air Pollution Is Cutting More Years From People’s Lives Than Smoking, War Or HIV/AIDS” • Air pollution is taking years from billions of people’s lives around the world and is a greater threat to life expectancy than smoking, HIV/AIDS, or war, a report shows. In India, air pollution reduces life expectancy an average of 5.9 years. [CNN]

Air pollution (Pixabay, Pexels)

¶ “The Unlikely Protector Against Bangladesh’s Rising Seas” • By 2050, up to 13.3 million Bangladeshis may become displaced due to climate change. A main problem is sea level rise. But there is a glimmer of hope visible amid the waves, as oyster-encrusted reefs glisten in the sun. These reefs could become a formidable defense against rising seas. [BBC]

¶ “Subaru To Introduce Battery Electric SUV In 2022” • Subaru announced its first battery EV will arrive in US showrooms in the middle of next year. The all-electric platform was developed jointly with Toyota, which owns a major chunk of Subaru. It is expected to be closely related to the production version of the Toyota bZ-4X concept car. [CleanTechnica]

Subaru electric SUV teaser (Subaru image)

¶ “Serbia Streamlines Rooftop Solar Permitting: No Permitting!” • Serbia is foregoing the lengthy, costly permits for rooftop solar panels altogether. If you buy some solar panels, you can have them installed and all is right with the world. One commenter said, “This is a U turn on regulations from close to impossible administration to zero paperwork.” [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hive Energy Team Targets 350 MW Of PV In New Zealand” • Hive Energy, Ethical Power, and Solar South West launched a new joint venture, HES Aotearoa, to develop up to 350 MW of solar assets in New Zealand. The three UK-based companies said they have complementary skills, so the JV is fully integrated in the whole solar development chain. [reNEWS]

Solar panels (Sungrow EMEA, Unsplash)

¶ “Sweden’s Plugin EV Share Over 47% In August, Full Electrics At Record High 24%” • Sweden’s plugin electric vehicle market share hit 47.1% in August of 2021, up over 1.6 times its 29.0% in August of 2020. Full electric vehicles took a record high 24.1% share of new sales, slightly ahead of plugin hybrids, due to the country’s recent incentive adjustments. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Stiesdal ‘Hot Rocks’ Energy Storage Flagship To Power Up On Danish Island Of Lolland” • The flagship of an innovative ‘hot rocks’ energy storage system concept under development by Stiesdal Storage Technologies is to be set up with power and fibre-optic group Andel on Lolland, a renewables-rich island off Denmark in the Baltic Sea. [Recharge News]

CGI of Stiesdal’s GridScale energy storage facility (SST image)

¶ “Australia’s Long-Awaited Offshore Wind Legislation Has Landed” • Australia could become an offshore wind superpower, with new jobs and economic opportunities, after years of waiting for the federal government to open the door to this booming global industry. An offshore wind bill has finally been presented in Parliament. [Climate Council]

US:

¶ “Coming Hours Are Make Or Break For Lake Tahoe Resort City, Fire Officials Say” • Firefighters have been able to make some headway against the Caldor Fire around South Lake Tahoe, and the popular California tourist town may, with luck, be spared from flames, if conditions on Wednesday night remain favorable, a fire official said. [CNN]

Wildfire in California (Missvain, USDA, public domain)

¶ “New York City Declares State Of Emergency Over ‘Brutal Flooding'” • A state of emergency was declared in New York City after it was hit by record rainfall and flash flooding by Tropical Storm Ida. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was “enduring an historic weather event” with “brutal flooding” and “dangerous conditions” on the roads. [BBC]

¶ “US Charging Networks Getting More Connected” • In recent months, four of the biggest and most user-friendly EV charging networks linked up in order to make EV charging much simpler and easier. Greenlots members can now use ChargePoint, EV Connect, and FLO charging stations via roaming agreements the companies made. [CleanTechnica]

Charging station (Image courtesy of FLO)

¶ “Fifty-Four Members Of Congress (All Democrats) Push For End To Fossil Fuel Subsidies” • In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer this week, 54 members of Congress called for an end to over $120 billion in tax handouts to the fossil fuel industry. The letter follows a proposal by President Joe Biden. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “LA City Council Votes To Have City Transition to 100% Renewable Energy By 2035” • The Los Angeles City Council voted to have the Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal utility in the country, transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035, as well as develop a long-term hiring plan for nearly 10,000 “green” jobs. [MyNewsLA.com]

Los Angeles (Cameron Venti, Unsplash)

¶ “Signal Energy Completes Texas Clean Renewable Energy Project” • Signal Energy, an EPC contractor based in Tennessee, has completed construction of the 418-MW Juno Solar Project in Borden County, Texas. The project was delivered on time and is producing enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes. [Solar Industry]

¶ “Exelon Threatens Nuclear Plant Closure After Springfield Energy Deal Falters” • The operator of three Illinois nuclear plants facing potential closure said that Illinois lawmakers must act on an energy omnibus package in less than two weeks to avoid having the Byron plant being taken offline permanently on September 13. [WBEZ]

Have a thoroughly agreeable day.

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Opinion:

¶ “It’s Time To Pay Serious Attention To The Power Grid” • Millions of Americans have gone without power this year. The examples include California (heat), Texas (cold) and Louisiana (hurricanes). New Orleans is powerless, potentially for weeks, after Hurricane Ida, and dangerously high temperatures setting in. It’s time to think about a resilient grid. [CNN]

Blackout (Claudio Schwarz, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Using Hot Sand To Store Energy” • Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are in the late stages of prototype testing a thermal energy storage technology that uses silica sand as a storage medium. The system is a reliable, cost-effective, and scalable solution that can be sited anywhere. The sand is heated to 1,200°C (2,192°F) for energy storage. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “High-Power Wireless Vehicle Charging Technology Licensed By HEVO” • The US DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has licensed its wireless charging technology for electric vehicles to Brooklyn-based HEVO. The system provides the world’s highest power levels in the smallest package and could enable EVs to be charged as they are driven. [CleanTechnica]

Wireless charging system (Carlos Jones, ORNL, US DOE)

World:

¶ “John Kerry Warns Nations Are Running Out Of Time To Decarbonize And Challenges China To Move Away From Coal” • US Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry said that he is confident the world’s largest fossil fuel emitters will decarbonize in the end. But the top US international climate official warned we’re quickly running out of time. [CNN]

¶ “Paris Slams On The Brakes And Sets 30 kph Speed Limit To Reduce Pollution” • Authorities in Paris are forcing drivers to slow down, setting a speed limit on almost all the city’s roads to reduce pollution and improve safety. But there are questions about whether the rule, which limits drivers to 30 kph (19 mph), will actually reduce pollution. [CNN]

Notre Dame gargoyle over the city streets (Pedro Lastra, Unsplash)

¶ “Syrian Oil Slick Spreads Across Mediterranean – Cyprus On Alert” • Authorities in Cyprus are monitoring an oil slick that originated from a power plant on Syria’s Mediterranean coast and could soon affect the island. Syrian state media said last week there had been a spill from the plant, which is inside the Baniyas oil refinery. [BBC]

¶ “Renewables Surge ‘Not Fast Enough For Net Zero’” • The world will fall far short of hitting the 2050 net zero ambition established by the COP21 Paris Agreement, according to a report, DNV’s Energy Transition Outlook. The report made clear that this is true even if all new electricity generation capacity is from renewable resources. [reNEWS]

Assembling a wind turbine (Ørsted image)

¶ “China Curbs Coal-Fired Power Expansion, Giving Way To Renewables” • In the first half of this year, the government of China has chopped newly-approved coal-fired units by 78.8% to 5.2 GW as compared with the same period last year, the non-government environment organisation Greenpeace said in its latest research report. [Upstream Online]

US:

¶ “Hurricane Ida: Two Killed In Mississippi Highway Collapse” • Two people were killed and at least 10 injured after a section of highway collapsed in Mississippi. At least seven vehicles were involved in the crash, about 36 miles (69 km) from Mobile, Alabama. Local authorities believe the collapse was caused by torrential rainfall as Hurricane Ida. [BBC]

Highway collapse (Mississippi Highway Patrol image)

¶ “Caldor Fire Prompts States Of Emergency In Nevada And California, With More Than 50,000 Told To Evacuate The Lake Tahoe Region” • The governors of California and Nevada have declared states of emergency because of the fast-moving Caldor Fire. Officials have told everyone in the city of South Lake Tahoe to get out. [CNN]

¶ “Walmart Offers New Delivery Systems And Autonomous EVs” • Walmart announced it will expand its last-mile delivery service to other clients, offering what it terms a “white label” logistics platform to outside merchants. This meets its competitors’ level and could also make it be a rival to FedEx, UPS, and the US Postal Service. [CleanTechnica]

Delivery vehicle (Gatik image)

¶ “More Chevy Bolt Battery Woes – GM Shuts Down Production” • General Motors has stopped making Chevy Bolts and laid off workers at its factory in Orion Township, Michigan. The Detroit Free Press reported that GM will keep that plant idle until it is confident LG Energy Solution can make a defect-free EV battery without a potential fire risk. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Invenergy Inks 127-MW Colorado PV PPA” • Invenergy and Guzman Energy have signed a 127-MW PPA for the Boutique Solar project currently in development in Montezuma County, Colorado. Boutique Solar is expected to generate more than $250,000 (€211,000) per year in local property taxes in addition to creating jobs. [reNEWS]

Solar array (Invenergy image)

¶ “Louisiana Assesses Major Damage To Power Grid From Ida” • The damage to Louisiana’s power grid from Hurricane Ida is so extensive that the US Coast Guard has joined the task of assessing the wreckage, a departure from its maritime security duties. More than 1 million homes and businesses along the US Gulf Coast are without power. [Reuters]

¶ “Cunningham: Energy Legislation Creates Thousands Of Jobs, Fights Climate Change” • The Illinois Senate passed legislation that sets an ambitious goal of 100% renewable energy for the state by 2050. It creates a firm schedule for closing coal, oil, and gas-based power plants. It provides short-term funding for old nuclear plants. [Illinois Senate Democratic]

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