geoharvey

Opinion: 

¶ “What Is The Glasgow Climate Conference And Why Is It Important?” • COP26, meeting in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November, could lead to major changes to our everyday lives. For this conference, 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions by 2030. During the two weeks we can expect a flurry of new announcements. [BBC]

Earth (NASA image, Unsplash)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Expansion Of Wind And Solar Power Too Slow To Stop Climate Change” • After extensive analysis, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology and Lund University in Sweden and Central European University in Vienna concluded that virtually no country is moving sufficiently fast to avoid global warming of even 2°C. [Science Daily]

World:

¶ “Volkswagen Doubles Deliveries Of Battery Electric Vehicles In Q3” • Volkswagen announced this week that its sales of battery electric vehicles worldwide doubled in the third quarter of this year. In all, EVs accounted for more than 6% of the company’s global sales for the first time. Through the end of September, Volkswagen sold 293,100 EVs. [CleanTechnica]

Volkswagen EV sales (Volkswagen image)
Please click on the image to enlarge it.

¶ “New Survey Finds Electric Vehicle Drivers Prefer Charging To Gassing Up” • NewMotion, a European charging network owned by oil giant Shell, released its latest annual survey of EV drivers, and the findings should make interesting reading for anyone thinking of buying an EV. Environmental impact was reason the majority gave for buying one. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Hyundai Ioniq 5 Sells Out Immediately In Australia” • Hyundai made 240 cars available for customers Down Under, according to The Driven. Offered at the company website, they were all sold in about two hours. Up until now, EVs have been little more than an afterthought in the Australian market. These sales show a pent-up demand. [CleanTechnica]

Hyundai Ioniq 5

¶ “Tesla Model 3 Reaches #1 in Germany in 29% Plugin Vehicle Share Market!” • The German plugin vehicle market scored over 56,000 registrations last month, a 36% improvement year over year. It is an amazing performance in an overall market that was down 26%. As a result, last month’s plugin share ended at 29% (17% pure batter electric). [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Renewable Energy Investments in Morocco Ranked Highest Among MENA Region” • An Ernst & Young report said Morocco is the most attractive place for renewable energy investments in the Middle East North Africa region. EY’s October 2021 list of 40 top nations for sustainable energy investment and development provided the ranking. [Morocco World News]

Wind turbines in Morocco (Siemens Press image)

¶ “UK Poised To Confirm Funding For Mini Nuclear Reactors For Carbon-Free Energy” • The government of the UK is poised to approve funding for a fleet of Rolls-Royce mini nuclear reactors. The prime minister hopes they will help the UK reach his target of zero-carbon electricity by 2035. A consortium has already secured £210 million in backing. [The Guardian]

¶ “Johnson & Johnson Ireland Moves To 100% Renewable Electricity” • Johnson & Johnson entered into an eight-year power purchase agreement in Ireland with Ørsted that will provide 100% renewable electricity across its Irish operations. Ørsted will supply J&J with energy from two windfarms, one in Kerry and one in Clare. [Silicon Republic]

Corrie Mountain windfarm (RTG, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)

US:

¶ “Biden’s Clean Electricity Program Could Be Dropped From Spending Bill” • A central part of the Biden administration’s climate agenda could be dropped from the massive budget bill that is pending in Congress due to opposition from Senator Joe Manchin, a report in The New York Times said. Its sources were congressional staffers and lobbyists. [The Guardian]

¶ “Reagan’s Ranch Is Still Threatened But Firefighters Gain Ground On Alisal Fire” • Santa Barbara’s famed Reagan Ranch, called the Western White House when Ronald Reagan in office, narrowly escaped burning, as over 1,700 firefighters fight the Alisal Fire. Also, closed sections of the Union Pacific Railroad and US Highway 101 have been reopened. [CNN]

Rancho del Cielo (US Government image, cropped)

¶ “Tesla Insurance Is Available In Texas” • Tesla has officially launched its insurance platform in Texas and has a neat way of determining how Tesla owners receive their rates. The insurance rates are determined based upon Tesla’s evaluation of drivers’ real-time driving behavior on the road, using data from Tesla’s Safety Score system. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Oregon Utility Targets 2-GW Clean Power Drive” • Portland General Electric has unveiled plans to source up to 2 GW of renewables with a view to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power served to customers by at least 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035 and 100% by 2040. To achieve the goal, PGE will need up to 2 GW of renewable resources. [reNews]

Wind farm (Peter Franken, Unsplash)

¶ “Houston Company Has Unique Idea To Store Renewable Energy” • The Houston area is dotted with salt domes that have had their salt removed. They are empty spaces bigger than the tallest skyscraper, and have been used for decades to store crude oil and natural gas. Now, there’s a different idea: Use them to store energy in compressed air. [FOX 26 Houston]

¶ “New Program Will Help Keep The Power On During Blackouts In Humboldt” • Homeowners in Humboldt County, California, now can get paid by sharing power from their solar panels and backup batteries with Redwood Coast Energy Authority when the grid faces too much stress. The new program also helps keep the power on during blackouts. [KRCR]

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