Opinion:
¶ “No One Surprised 2021 One Of The Hottest Years On Record – And That’s Terrifying” • NASA and NOAA released their data on 2021 climate trends. Climatologist Dr Kristina Dahl wrote, “What terrifies me about the latest data showing 2021 ranks as the sixth hottest year on record is that these facts and figures are no longer surprising or shocking.” [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it. (NOAA image)
¶ “Critics Slam USPS Failure To Pursue An Electrification Strategy” • The US postal service plans to saddle America with internal combustion technology until at least the middle of this century. That is simply insane. But a defense contractor will profit handsomely from this arrangement. And that’s business as usual in America. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Five Ways US States Can Get More Electric School Buses On The Road” • The enactment of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in the US is an important step on the path to cleaner school bus rides for more than 20 million children. Here are five specific ways that state leaders can lead in a transition to electric school buses. [CleanTechnica]
School buses charging (Nuvve Corporation, cropped)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Tesla Cold Weather Experiment In Temperatures Of -22°F And -31°F” • How long would a Tesla keep you warm if a blizzard kept you from moving? CleanTechnica readers reported on doing their own experiments with Teslas operating in the very cold temperatures. The results show that Teslas are really surprisingly good at keeping the heat on. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “1,000-Cycle Lithium-Sulfur Battery Could Quintuple Electric Vehicle Ranges” • A new biologically inspired battery membrane has enabled a battery with five times the capacity of the industry-standard lithium ion design to run for the thousand-plus cycles needed to power an electric car. The design came from a team at the University of Michigan. [CleanTechnica]
Lithium-sulfur battery (Ahmet Emre, Kotov Lab)
World:
¶ “Romanian Minister Says EU Funds To Drive Green Energy Surge” • EU support schemes will drive a surge in renewable energy projects in Romania to replace outdated coal-fired power plants and help the country meet its climate targets, Energy Minister Virgil Popescu said. He also gave a time scale on help from the US for nuclear plants. [Reuters]
¶ “Germany To Dedicate 2% Of Its Land To Development Of Wind Power” • Germany’s new Green Minister for Economics and Climate, Robert Habeck, presented a bold new plan for expanding onshore and offshore wind power. If successful, the plan would add up to 10 GW of new onshore wind capacity every year for the rest of the decade. [CleanTechnica]
Texas Wind Farm (Amazon image)
¶ “Huawei To Sell Large Capacity Battery For Renewable Energy In Japan” • With the growing demand for renewable energy, large-scale battery storage will be needed to maintain a stable supply. According to NikkeiAsia, Huawei will start selling the large-scale battery system for renewable energy storage in Japan in March 2022. [Huawei Central]
US:
¶ “Tesla Cybertruck Reportedly Delayed Until 1st Quarter Of 2023” • The Cybertruck page on the Tesla website used to say, “You will be able to complete your configuration as production nears in 2022.” But at the end of last year, the words “in 2022” were deleted. Why? It seems likely that Cybertruck production has been moved back into 2023. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Cybertruck (Image courtesy of Tesla)
¶ “The US Spent $1.1 Billion On Failed Carbon Capture Projects In A Decade” • The US Government Accountability Office said in a recent report that the US DOE had spent $1.1 billion on eleven carbon capture projects at coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities since 2009, most of which turned out to be failures and were never built. [Oil Price] (Thanks to Tad Montgomery)
¶ “Arizona Utility Signs Wind PPA With NextEra” • Arizona utility Salt River Project is contracting with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources to buy the electricity from the 161-MW Babbitt Ranch wind farm in Coconino County, north of Flagstaff. It is scheduled to begin delivering electricity to SRP’s power grid by December 2023. [reNews]
NextEra wind farm (NextEra image)
¶ “Solar Power Could Boom In 2022, Depending On Supply Chains” • The US Energy Information Administration projects US solar companies will install 21.5 GW of utility-scale capacity this year, shattering the annual record of 15.5 GW set last year. But the Solar Energy Industries Association says growth could be limited by supply constraints. [Scientific American]
¶ “Permian Basin Solar Farm Green-Lit By State Of New Mexico. Will Power Oil And Gas Operations” • A New Mexico solar farm will support the needs of Chevron’s Permian Basin oil and gas operations after the fossil fuel giant won a bid for a section of State Trust land for the project. The Hayhurst project will have a capacity of 20 MW. [Yahoo News]
Pump jacks in the Permian Basin (Zorin09, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Targa To Source Solar Power For West Texas Assets” • Targa Resources Corp plans to source electricity from Concho Valley Solar to provide power to Targa’s natural gas processing infrastructure in the Permian Basin in West Texas. Concho Valley Solar has begun construction of a 160-MW project near San Angelo, Texas. [LP Gas magazine]
¶ “US Cross-Department Plan Inked To Greenlight 25 GW Of Renewables Plant On Federal Land By 2025” • Five US cabinet departments have signed a memorandum of understanding to improve government coordination and streamline reviews for development of a lead-off 25 GW of renewable energy projects on public lands by 2025. [RechargeNews]
Have an enchantingly delicious day.
geoharvey 