Opinion:
¶ “Doing The Right Thing For Wind And Solar Power In USA” • Solar and wind energy have grown tremendously in the US. But we have only started on the job of addressing climate change. That’s why NRDC is fighting to extend the federal tax credits for renewables in the Build Back Better bill. But to do this right, the siting has to be right. [CleanTechnica]
Solar panels (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)
¶ “Nuclear Power Has No Business Case And May Make Climate Change Worse” • In its pursuit of carbon reductions, the US must not allow itself to be misled by false promises of nuclear power, whether they be for continued use or illusory new programs. But Congress is already looking to award just two “advanced” reactor designs $3.2 billion in subsidies. [TheHill]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Plants Responding To More CO₂ In Atmosphere With More Photosynthesis – But Not Matching CO₂ Increase” • Research from Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley shows more photosynthesis by plants in response to increased atmospheric CO₂, SciTechDaily reported. That’s great, but it isn’t close to removing the amount of CO₂ that needs to be drawn down. [CleanTechnica]
Tree and Spanish moss (Dawn McDonald, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “Anglo American And Aurizon Team Up For Hydrogen Heavy Haulage Feasibility Study” • How do you decarbonise the heavy rail freight industry? Aurizon and Anglo American are working together to do just that. Both companies are committed to be carbon neutral for freight operations, and the change is under way in Australia. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “High-Tech Mirrors Used In Solar Power Plants Get New International Consortium” • The US DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, joined by Sandia National Laboratories and the Australian Solar Thermal Research Institute, announced the launch of the Heliostat Consortium, an international effort to drive down the cost of heliostats. [CleanTechnica]
Heliostats (Courtesy of NREL and the Heliostat Consortium)
¶ “Greece Gets EU Nod For State Aid For Amfilochia Plant And Renewables In Islands” • Greece will support Terna Energy with €250 million for construction of the Amfilochia pumped storage hydropower plant, while the government earmarked €1.4 billion for the development of renewable electricity in islands that are not interconnected. [Balkan Green Energy News]
¶ “Ocean Winds And Aker Offshore Wind Announce Supply Chain Investment Package For Scotland” • Aker Offshore Wind and Ocean Winds announced a £235 million early investment package for a renewable energy supply chain in Scotland as part of their proposal to transform the country into a green industrial powerhouse. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Wind turbines (Courtesy of Ocean Winds)
¶ “Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Plans Seabed Tunnel To Discharge Treated Radioactive Water Into Ocean” • TEPCO has unveiled plans to build an underwater tunnel to release treated radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi into the sea. TEPCO submitted the plans to the nuclear regulation authority for its approval. [South China Morning Post]
US:
¶ “Coal Miners Want Joe Manchin To Reverse Opposition To Build Back Better” • Senator Joe Manchin is facing calls from a powerful group close to his heart to reconsider his opposition to the Build Back Better Act: Coal miners. America’s largest coal mining union praised the legislation’s provisions and pushed Manchin to take a do-over. [CNN]
Joe Manchin (MDGovpics, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Accelerating Progress On Clean Vehicles” • The US is getting back on the road to cleaning up transportation pollution. This year, multiple states enacted strong pollution standards for cars and freight trucks, helping to accelerate the shift to EVs. Those and new EPA standards will cut carbon emissions by 3.1 billion metric tons by 2050. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Karat Packaging Bought 10 Tesla Semi Trucks For Its Fleet” • Karat Packaging, with a focus on distributing and manufacturing environmentally friendly disposable foodservice products, has announced that it will be adding 10 Tesla Semi trucks to its fleet. The order is part of the company’s geographic expansion of its logistics services business. [CleanTechnica]
Elon Musk talking about Tesla’s Semi Truck (Tesla image)
¶ “Biden Administration Advances Two Large-Scale Solar Projects In California” • The Biden administration announced approval of two solar projects on public lands in California as part of a broader push to promote onshore renewable energy. The two projects will together have a capacity of 465 MW and have up to 400 MW of storage. [The Hill]
¶ “Enel Green Power Launches Operations At Oklahoma Wind Farm” • Enel Green Power North America is operating two new clean power plants in Texas and Oklahoma. Enel Green Power is accelerating its clean energy installations with 6.5 GW of new renewable capacity and 1.4 GW of energy storage over the next three years. [North American Windpower]
Rockhaven wind farm in Oklahoma
¶ “Energy Department Announces New Office For Renewable Demonstration Projects” • The DOE announced an office for energy demonstration projects, funded by the recent bipartisan infrastructure law. The law provides $20 billion for the creation of the office to fund demonstrations of such technologies as carbon capture and renewable hydrogen. [TheHill]
¶ “Bromley Ski Resort Powers Up New Solar Array At Sun Mountain” • Encore Renewable Energy and Bromley Mountain Ski Resort announced the completion of a 615-kW (DC) solar project on land owned by Bromley Mountain in Peru, Vermont. This project is the 6th collaborative effort between the two companies. [Vermont Business Magazine]
Have a simply magnificent day.
geoharvey 