Opinion:
¶ “How Greed And Politics Slow The Switch To Renewable Energy” • Thanks to fossil fuels, billions of people enjoy lives of wealth and comfort that was unimaginable before the industrial revolution. Fossil fuels do have their dark side, and you might think you understand that. But it’s likely fossil fuels are worse than you think. [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]
Wind turbines (Dan Meyers, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “CATL Warns On Solid-State Batteries, Sees Supply Shortfall Ahead” • Recently, CATL, China’s largest battery maker, revealed plans for large investments to increase its production capacity. In the process, the company showed that technical difficulties will prevent mass production of solid-state batteries from occurring for a long time. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Six Questions To Help You Understand The Sixth Warmest Year On Record” • Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies record climate data using instruments all over the world, and it is validated by satellite data. Here, we answer six questions to help you understand the GISS global surface temperature analysis. [CleanTechnica]
Temperature anomalies (Gavin Schmidt, NASA GISS)
World:
¶ “32% Plugin Vehicle Share In France! Tesla Model 3 Is Number Eight In Overall Market.” • In 2020, the French auto market was horrible (-26% YoY), and 2021 was not much better (only up 1% from 2020). But even in that bad market, plugin sales continued to grow, with December sales (+6% YoY) signaling a record month, at 32% of all car sales. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Plastic Crisis Needs Binding Treaty, Report Says” • Pollution from plastics is a global emergency in need of a robust UN treaty, according to a report. It argues that the plastic pollution threat is almost equivalent to climate change. The air we breathe now contains plastic micro particles, there’s plastic in Arctic snow, plastic in soils and plastic in our food. [BBC]
Plastic cast up on a beach (Antoine Giret, Unsplash)
¶ “Shipping And Renewable Energy Bodies Join Forces To Advance Global Green Fuel Transition” • The International Chamber of Shipping, with over 80% of world’s merchant fleet, has signed a Partnership Agreement with the International Renewable Energy Agency to support the decarbonization of the shipping sector. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]
¶ “Outlook For Fossil Gas Is ‘Bumpy'” • Wood Mackenzie’s recent press release highlights the difficulties that may lie ahead for the gas industry. The recent EU proposal to support biomethane and hydrogen will accelerate the movement away from natural gas as an energy resource. Growth of the gas industry will depend on price reduction. [CleanTechnica]
LNG Schneeweisschen (Photo courtesy of Uniper)
¶ “Philippines Has Cleared 62 PV Projects Totaling 1.3 GW For Renewable Portfolio Standards” • The Philippines’ DOE has published the list of operational renewable energy projects that are eligible for the renewable portfolio standards. The list has 62 solar projects, 36 hydropower facilities, seven wind farms, along with 36 biomass and 6 geothermal projects. [PV Magazine]
¶ “Neoen Starts Work On Australia’s Largest Renewable Energy Project” • Neoen started to develop 1.2 GW of wind, 600 MW of solar, and 900 MW of battery storage capacity in South Australia. Upon completion, the installation will likely be Australia’s largest wind, solar, and battery storage project. Transmission lines will tie it to Victoria also. [PV Magazine]
South Australia (Neoen image)
¶ “EVs Beat Diesels As Electric Car Sales Ramp Up In Europe” • Auto analyst Mathias Schmidt tells the Financial Times that sales of battery-electric cars in Europe and the UK were higher than sales of diesel-powered cars for the first time in December of 2021. There were 176,000 battery EVs sold in the month, and only 160,000 diesels. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Scottish Renewable Auction Plans 15 GW Of Floating Wind Leases” • The Crown Estate for Scotland announced the winning bids for its first renewable leasing round in 10 years. In total, the auction allocated 14.5 GW of floating wind leases and 9.8 GW of fixed-based wind leases, as well as a 0.5 GW mixed development. It raised almost £700 million. [Power Technology]
Offshore wind turbines (Øyvind Gravås, ©Equinor)
US:
¶ “Court Vacates Decision To Approve Dakota Access Pipeline Expansion” • An Illinois Appellate Court has issued its decision in the appeal of the Illinois Commerce Commission decision to approve the Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline expansion. The court vacated the approval, and it remanded the case back to the ICC. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Wabtec’s 100% Electric Locomotive Trickle Suddenly Becomes International Flood” • The locomotive manufacturer Wabtec debuted the FLXdrive 100% electric locomotive in Pennsylvania last November, but that was just the beginning. The company has found two clients in Australia and locked in a spot on Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking. [CleanTechnica]
Wabtec FLXdrive locomotive (Photo courtesy of Wabtec)
¶ “The US Is Divided Over Whether Nuclear Power Is Part Of The Green Energy Future” • As climate change pushes states in the US to dramatically cut their use of fossil fuels, many are coming to the conclusion that solar, wind, and other renewable power sources might not be enough to keep the lights on. So they are considering turning to nuclear. [NPR]
¶ “Solar PV And Wind Power In The US Continue To Grow Amid Favorable Government Plans” • GlobalData’s latest report covers the power market structure of the US and provides historical and forecast numbers for capacity, generation, and consumption up to 2030. It expects that renewables will grow to 48.4% of power generation by 2030. [Power Technology]
Have an incomparably simple day.
geoharvey 