Opinion:
¶ “Elon Musk Not A Fan Of “Zero-Sum” Mindset” • Elon Musk isn’t a proponent of a zero-sum mindset. He’s opened up Tesla’s patents. And he’ll also soon open up the company’s Supercharger network to other automakers. He’s encouraged industry-wide electrification all along. Tesla’s mission is all about “accelerating the advent of clean transport.” [CleanTechnica]
SpaceX launch (SpaceX image, Unsplash)
¶ “Experts Say Nuclear Energy As Climate Solution Is Total ‘Fiction'” • As global scientists continue to warn of the urgent need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, a quartet of European and US experts on Tuesday made a comprehensive case for why nuclear power should be not be considered a solution to the climate crisis. [Common Dreams]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Solid-State EV Battery Bingo Card Filling Fast: Dongfeng Motor, Nissan-Renault Numbers Come Up” • Skeptics continue to doubt the likelihood of a solid-state battery breakthrough, but leading automakers are clearly not listening. One EV company after another is taking up the technology, lured by a promise of long range and low cost. [CleanTechnica]
Solid-state battery (Oak Ridge National Laboratory image)
¶ “Reducing Wind Turbine Wakes Could Save Wind Farms Millions” • Wakes can cost an average wind farm about 10% of its potential energy. In the spring of 2022, National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers will launch a multi-institutional, international wind energy campaign called the American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN). [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “US Working With Allies To Shore Up Energy Supplies If Russia Invades Ukraine” • The Biden administration is making contingency plans to shore up Europe’s energy supplies should a Russian invasion of Ukraine create gas shortages and roil the global economy, senior administration officials said. Supplies of natural gas are especially important. [CNN]
Pump jack (David Thielen, Unsplash)
¶ “There’s A New Kind Of Gold In Them There Pits” • A spent gold mine in far north Queensland is set to become the world’s first co-located solar and pumped storage plant. The 250-MW Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project, 270 km northwest of Townsville, is the first pumped hydro power station to be built in Australia in almost 40 years. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “How Dubai Is Pushing Back Its Encroaching Deserts” • The desert has never been far from Dubai’s doorstep. Now a modern financial hub of three million people, the UAE’s most populous city has sea on one side, and a seemingly endless carpet of sand on the other. Encroaching deserts are threatening the emirate’s remaining fertile land. [BBC]
Dubai (Mohammed Nasim, Unsplash)
¶ “Renewable Energy On The Rise: 37% Of EU’s Electricity ” • In 2020, renewable sources covered 37% of gross electricity demand in the EU, up from 34% in 2019. Windpower provided 36% of renewable power, and hydropower accounted for 33%. Solar power, the fastest growing type of renewable energy, provided 14% of renewables. [European Commission]
¶ “Fortescue Buys Williams Advanced Engineering” • Fortescue has bought Williams Advanced Engineering. They have been cooperating for some time in the electrification of Fortescue’s 400 ton haulage trucks, and they will be working more closely together. WAE has been successful on the racetrack. Now it will take on heavy industry. [CleanTechnica]
Solomon Mine (Fortescue Communications, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Amp Energy Announces The Largest Battery Storage Facilities In Europe: Two Flagship 400-MW Projects In Scotland” • Amp Energy announced Europe’s two biggest battery storage facilities in its 800-MW battery portfolio in Scotland. The portfolio is due to be operational in April 2024 and will be comprised of two 400 MW battery facilities. [National Post]
US:
¶ “PG&E Proposes 6.4-GWh Battery Storage Plan” • Last June, the California PUC issued a directive requiring the state’s utility companies to install a total of 11.5 GW of storage between 2023 and 2026, to help replace the 2.2-GW Diablo Canyon nuclear plant. Now, PG&E is proposing nine new battery projects totaling about 1,600 MW and 6,400 MWh. [CleanTechnica]
Victoria Big Battery (Image courtesy of Neoen)
¶ “GE Revs Up Renewables Business Turnaround As Seismic Shake-Up At US Giant Looms” • US industrial conglomerate GE will intensify efforts to turn around its money-losing renewables business this year in a challenging near-term market as part of a recently announced plan to split the group into three separate public companies by early 2024. [Recharge News]
¶ “CO₂ Emissions Allowance Prices Increased In Latest RGGI Auction” • The most recent Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative quarterly auction resulted in a price of $13.00 per allowance. The previous auction set a record at $9.30 per allowance. Each allowance represents a limited authorization for power plants to emit one short ton of CO₂. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it.
¶ “Markley Group Signs PPA For Electricity From Community Solar Projects In Massachusetts” • Markley Group entered a power purchase agreement with Borrego for renewable energy projects across the US. Markley will purchase half of the power from 80 MW of community solar projects in the Eversource utility territory. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
¶ “West Virginia Senate Votes To End Ban On Nuclear Power” • A bill to lift the ban on nuclear power in West Virginia passed the Senate. Lawmakers voted 24 to 7 to end the ban. West Virginia is one of 13 states that restricts the construction of nuclear power facilities. The ban was enacted at a time when state lawmakers supported coal. [WVPB]
Have a consequentially excellent day.
geoharvey 