Opinion:
¶ “Why Record-High Gas Prices Won’t Be Solved By Drilling More Oil In The US” • As US oil and gasoline prices set records, politicians in both parties called for a seemingly easy solution: Drill our way out of the problem. But the idea that the US can be fully energy independent, thereby keeping gas prices low, is a fantasy, numerous experts told CNN. [CNN]
High prices in Massachusetts (Yassine Khalfalli, Unsplash)
¶ “Ukraine Climate Scientist Says ‘This Is A Fossil Fuel War'” • Courage is grace under pressure, an adage goes. If so, climate scientist Svitlana Krakovska is the epitome of courage as she stands ready to oppose the madness of Vladimir Putin, alone if necessary. It would be refreshing if Americans showed the same commitment to what is right. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Why the retirement of a California nuclear plant should proceed as planned” • The orderly phase-out of Diablo Canyon is historic. Its life extension and retirement deal was conditioned on full replacement with lower cost zero-carbon resources, after PG&E found that baseload power is not needed for modern power grids. [Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]
Diablo Canyon nuclear plant (Don Searles, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
World:
¶ “Russia Hits Back At Western Sanctions With Export Bans” • After western countries set import limits on its oil and gas, Russia retaliated by imposing export bans on a string of products until the end of 2022. The ban covers exports of telecoms, medical, vehicle, agricultural, and electrical equipment, as well as some forestry products such as timber. [BBC]
¶ “Volkswagen ID. Buzz Is The Reborn Microbus You’ve Craved!” • After teasing us with microbus concept after concept for more than twenty years, Volkswagen has finally done it. The hotly anticipated ID. Buzz is here, and it’s a pitch-perfect redesign of the original Type II microbus – but, is it everything it needs to be to make you love it? Possibly. [CleanTechnica]
Volkswagen ID. Buzz (Volkswagen image)
¶ “Human Rights And Green Rules For Batteries Get Support In Europe” • Batteries produced or sold in the EU would need to comply with new environmental standards and checks to see if their raw materials are responsibly sourced, under a draft law in the EU. “This puts Europe firmly on the path to a sustainable zero-emissions future.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “‘Increase The Ambition Of EU’s Proposed Van CO₂ Targets'” • In a letter, cities, health organisations, companies, hauliers, and civil society call for decision-makers to put vans on a credible path to zero emission and increase the ambition of the proposed CO₂ reduction targets. The letter says vans are the fastest growing climate problem in transportation. [CleanTechnica]
Delivery van (Jin Cheng, Unsplash)
¶ “Australia Sets Renewable Energy Investment Record For Fifth Year” • ustralia set renewable energy records for the fifth year in a row with more than one in four households generating power from their roofs. In 2021, renewable energy delivered 32.2% of the electricity in the national electricity market. Generation from renewables is up 23% from 2020. [The Market Herald]
¶ “Renewable Energy Generation Needs To Be Accelerated, Says SAWEA” • South Africa’s energy availability factor is once again dipping below the 60% mark. As that happens, the South African Wind Energy Association is advocating that increased power generation from renewable energy sources clearly needs to be accelerated. [ESI Africa]
Jeffreys Bay wind farm (SAWEA image)
¶ “Origin Accelerates Delivery Of Large-Scale Renewable Energy Strategy” • Australia’s largest energy retailer, Origin Energy, has ramped up plans for the delivery of large-scale renewable energy projects as it prepares to replace the capacity set to be withdrawn from the grid with the impending closure of the nation’s biggest coal-fired power station. [pv magazine Australia]
US:
¶ “Size Of Drought In US Increased By The Area Of California In The Past Month” • The West is not the only region with severely dry weather so far this year. According to Thursday’s report from the US Drought Monitor, more than 61% of the contiguous US is in some classification of drought. The figure is nearing the all-time record of 65%, set in 2012. [CNN]
Hoover Dam (Ryan Thorpe, Unsplash)
¶ “Scaling Clean: Assessing Market Options For Clean Energy And Capacity In PJM” • Spurred by state policy, strong customer demand, and rapidly improving technology, carbon-free energy is growing in PJM, the largest US wholesale electricity market. But the pace of PJM’s energy transition is much too slow to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ford Offers Six New EV Chargers, Considers Zero Inventory Dealer Model” • Ford has debuted a lineup of commercial EV chargers for customers in the US. According to Electrive, they range from an 11.5-kW model to a 180-kW DC fast charging station. And Ford Authority says the company is considering a “zero inventory” sales model for EVs. [CleanTechnica]
Ford commercial vehicle center (Ford image)
¶ “Gas Prices Reach Tipping Point With Record-Breaking Prices” • Gas may have passed a tipping point. Mark Schieldrop, AAA spokesperson, told 22News, “at $4.00 a gallon they are … forced to make decisions and find ways to save that may be pretty drastic like driving less or carpooling or combining trips and being really strategic about driving.” [WWLP]
¶ “Ørsted Partners On 675-MW US e-Methanol Plant” • Ørsted and AP Møller Mærsk signed a letter of intent to partner on a 675-MW power-to-X plant supplied by 1200 MW of onshore wind and solar energy. The plant will produce about 300,000 tonnes of e-methanol per year, which Mærsk will use for its methanol-powered vessels, Ørsted said. [reNews]
Have a superbly admirable day.
geoharvey 
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