Opinion:
¶ “Why The Future Of Long-Haul Trucking Is Battery Electric” • There is increasing consensus among European truck makers and industry stakeholders that battery electric trucks will play a dominant role in the decarbonization of road freight. Low fuel and maintenance costs make battery EVs very competitive for long-haul transport. [CleanTechnica]
Battery electric truck (Volvo Trucks image)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Lithium-Sulfur Batteries’ Commercial Viability Improves With Breakthrough In Cathode Chemistry” • In hopes of making batteries that perform better than those currently used in EVs and are made from readily available materials, Drexel University chemical engineers introduced sulfur into lithium-ion batteries. The results are astounding. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Accelerated Ammonia Synthesis Holds Promise For The Conversion Of Renewable Energy” • Research by scientists at Hiroshima University reveals a way to make ammonia at ambient pressure from its constituent nitrogen and hydrogen molecules. The study demonstrates a process with potential uses for storage and transfer of renewable energy. [CleanTechnica]
Zero-emission Yara Birkeland (Yara image)
World:
¶ “UK Weather: Millions Told To Stay At Home As Storm Eunice Hits” • Millions of people have been told to stay at home as one of the worst storms in decades, Storm Eunice, hits the UK. The Met Office has issued two rare red weather warnings, one for London, the south-east, and east of England, the other for parts of south-west England and south Wales. [BBC]
¶ “Heavy Rains, Landslides Kill Scores In Brazilian Mountain City” • At least 110 people have died in the Brazilian mountain city of Petropolis, local officials said, after heavy rains triggered landslides that washed out streets, swept away cars and buried homes. Brazil’s Civil Defense Secretariat said 269 landslides had been recorded in the country. [CNN]
Area of Petrópolis (TMbux, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Green Trucking Watershed Moment As The EU Adopts New Tolling Rules” • After MEPs voted to adopt new legislation, EU member states have until 2023 to implement a new system of road tolls that give big incentives for zero-emissions trucks. Member states could opt to levy extra CO₂-based charges on fossil fuel lorries. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UK Needs 24 GW Of Storage To Integrate Wind Power” • A report from Aurora Energy Research shows that 24 GW of long duration electricity storage may be needed to integrate wind power into a secure net zero system. This is about eight times the current installed capacity. Aurora’s report finds this target cannot be achieved without urgent investment. [reNews]
Grid with storage (Wikichesterdit, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Power Ministry Notifies Green Hydrogen Policy” • India has unveiled its green hydrogen policy as a step towards meeting the objectives of the National Hydrogen Mission launched by the prime minister last year. India currently uses about 6 millions tons of hydrogen per year, but a report says that could grow to 28 million by 2050. [pv magazine India]
US:
¶ “Biden Announces $1 Billion In Infrastructure Funding To Clean Up The Great Lakes” • President Joe Biden announced $1 billion in funding from his administration’s infrastructure law would go toward cleanup and restoration of the Great Lakes. The bulk of funding is to restore “Areas of Concern” that the EPA has identified as severely degraded. [CNN]
Saginaw Bay (Notorious4life, CC0 1.0)
¶ “Cities Tried To Cut Natural Gas From New Homes. The GOP And Gas Lobby Preemptively Quashed Their Effort” • In 2019, the city council in Berkeley, California banned gas hookups in all new building construction. A number of cities followed that lead to address climate change. Now, twenty states have banned such actions by cities. [CNN]
¶ “GreenCore Partners With B&D Industries To Provide Labor For 10,000 Solar EV Charging Plazas” • GreenCore EV Services has a goal of building a network of over 10,000 solar EV charging plazas throughout the US by the end of the decade. It announced that it selected B&D Industries to provide network’s labor and prefabrication services. [CleanTechnica]
Charging stations (GreenCore EV Service image)
¶ “Vermont Regulators Say GlobalFoundries Can’t Form Its Own Utility Exempt From Renewable Energy Standards” • Vermont utility regulators ruled that the manufacturer GlobalFoundries can’t create its own power utility exempt from state renewable energy standards. The commission said it has no authority to allow such a move. [Vermont Public Radio]
¶ “Shuttered Massachusetts Coal Plant To Be Transformed Into Renewable Energy Manufacturing Center” • The site of a coal plant in Massachusetts is set to be transformed into a facility to help harness windpower. Prysmian Group will use the site to make submarine power cables that will bring the power from offshore wind projects to the grid. [TheHill]
Block Island Wind Farm (Dennis Schroeder, NREL)
¶ “Report Says New Nuclear Reactor Is Risky; Utilities Disagree” • A new type of nuclear reactor that would provide carbon-free energy to at least four states in the Western US poses financial risks for utilities and their ratepayers, according to a report. The report was immediately criticized by the project’s owner and the company developing the reactor. [KUTV]
¶ “New Unit At Plant Vogtle Hits Another 6-Month Delay” • The first of two nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle might not begin generating electricity until as late as March 2023, Georgia Power Co now says. Reports of such delays for the reactors have become routine. With cost overruns, the project will cost its owners nearly $30 billion. [WRDW]
Have an indubitably dandy day.
geoharvey 
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