World:
¶ “French Energy Giant TotalEnergies To Stop Buying Russian Oil By Year-End” • French energy giant TotalEnergies said it would stop buying Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022 at the latest, according to a press release from the company. Due to European logistics capacities, it will take two to three years to end purchaces of natural gas. [CNN]
Demonstration (Markus Spiske, Unsplash)
¶ “Aging Oil Tanker Has Become A Floating Time Bomb. It’s An Environmental Disaster Waiting To Happen” • A decaying, old oil tanker, the FSO Safer, has been anchored five miles off the coast of Yemen since March 2015, when Houthi rebels took control of the Red Sea coastline near the port city of Al-Hudaydah. It holds over 40 million barrels of oil. [CNN]
¶ “Zendesk Signs Carbon Removal Agreement With Climeworks” • Climeworks signed a progressive deal with Zendesk to remove part of its unavoidable emissions permanently. This deal shows a clear sense of climate understanding by Zendesk and will enable Climeworks’ carbon-removal solution and also its necessary and sustainable mission. [CleanTechnica]
Climeworks Orca facility (Climeworks image)
¶ “Suzuki Will Invest $1.3 Billion To Manufacture EVs And Batteries In India” • Suzuki plans to invest nearly $1.3 billion in India to make EVs and the batteries needed to power them. It is safe to assume many of those vehicles will be scooters and mopeds designed for city operation. Production is expected to begin in 2025, sources claim. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Volkswagen Plans $7 Billion Investment To Build Electric Cars In North America” • Volkswagen Group announced it will invest $7.1 billion to produce battery-electric cars in North America, and offer 25 new EV models to customers in the US, Mexico, and Canada by 2030. Its goal is for 55% of its cars to run on electricity by the beginning of the next decade. [CleanTechnica]
Work in a Volkswagen plant (Volkswagen image)
¶ “India Has Installed Renewable Energy Projects Of 152 GW Capacity” • India has installed 152.90 GW of renewable energy projects, according to RK Singh, Union energy minister. This includes 50.78 GW from solar, 46.52 GW from large hydropower, 40.13 GW from wind, 10.63 GW from bio-power, and 4.84 GW from small hydropower. [Down To Earth]
¶ “Nordex Scores 314-MW Finnish Double” • Nordex Group is to supply 57 turbines totaling almost 314 MW to two wind farms in Finland for Valorem. The German manufacturer will deliver 30 N163/5.X turbines of the Delta4000 series to the Kalistanneva wind project and 27 machines of the same turbine type to the Matkussaari wind facility. [reNews]
Wind farm (Nordex image)
¶ “Forest Fires Erupt Around Chernobyl Nuclear Plant In Ukraine” • Several forest fires have erupted in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, with Ukraine claiming that Russian control of the abandoned power plant is hampering efforts to control the flames. At least seven fires have been spotted within Chernobyl’s exclusion zone. [The Guardian]
¶ “Taiwan Looks To Renewables As Nuclear Phase-Out Advances” • As Taiwan phases out nuclear power by 2025, renewable energy is likely to gain traction to fill the power generation gap, data and analytics company GlobalData shows. The installed renewable capacity was 9.31 GW in 2021, up from 1.38 GW in 2010, for a CAGR of 19.0%. [Power Engineering International]
Taipei (Thomas Tucker, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Climate Groups Sue Interior Department Over Controversial Black Friday Report On Oil And Gas Leasing” • Several climate and conservation groups are suing the Interior Department to get more information about the department’s November review of its oil and gas leasing program, which was widely criticized for sidestepping the program’s climate impacts. [CNN]
¶ “Romeo Power And Wrightspeed Debut ‘Powertrain In A Crate’ For Buses And Heavy Trucks” • Romeo Power and Wrightspeed are working on what they call a “Powertrain In A Crate,” which can be installed in an existing large vehicle. Their system is intended for transit buses and trucks of medium or heavy duty, according to Romeo. [CleanTechnica]
Electric powertrain (Wrightspeed image)
¶ “Microsoft Partners With Carbonfuture On Carbon Removal Purchases” • Microsoft selected Carbonfuture to be an integral part of its carbon removal portfolio, an announcement says. Microsoft has pledged to be carbon negative by 2030. For the climate action supported by Microsoft, Carbonfuture is to work with Pacific Biochar. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “GE, Bond To Deliver Empire Wind 1 Onshore Substation” • GE and Bond Civil & Utility Construction have been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract to provide the onshore substation for the 816-MW Empire Wind 1 offshore wind farm off New York. The onshore substation will be built in Brooklyn, New York City. [reNews]
Wind farm substations (GE-Bond image)
¶ “Mega Drought To Expand Amid Warmer Climate Conditions” • NOAA issued its US Spring Outlook, and for the second year in a row, forecasters predict prolonged, persistent drought in the West where below-average precipitation is most likely. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center forecasts above-average temperatures for most of the US. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Governor Hochul Announces New York As Top Community Solar Market In The US” • Governor Kathy Hochul announced New York is the top community solar market in the US, with more than 1 GW of community solar installed and operational, enough to serve 209,000 homes. New York also has the largest pipeline of solar projects. [Governor Kathy Hochul]
Have a comfortably triumphant day.
geoharvey 