Opinion:
¶ “Ditching Fossil Fuels Makes Even More Sense Now” • The surging and volatile oil and gas prices created by the Russian war on Ukraine highlights the urgent need for the US to reduce its dependence on foreign oil and natural gas and accelerate its move to cleaner energy sources. Never before has it been this clear that fossil fuels threaten our economy. [CNN]
Break free (Eelco Böhtlingk, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Living In Wind Energy’s Shadow” • The moving shadows caused by wind turbines, called “shadow flicker,” are known to annoy some people. A study led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory examined the extent of shadow flicker exposure near US wind projects and identifies the key factors predicting shadow flicker perception and annoyance. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Germany Issues ‘Early Warning’ Of Possible Gas Shortages As Russia Threatens Supplies” • Germany issued an “early warning” of potential natural gas shortages as a payments dispute with Russia is developing. The German government said there are no supply shortages now, but it urged consumers to reduce their use as far as possible. [CNN]
Wind turbines (Fabian Wiktor, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Indian Government Plans To Raise $3.3 Billion Through Green Bonds” • Media reports say the Indian government is planning to raise $3.3 billion by issuing a series of green bonds over the next few months. At COP26 the Indian prime minister announced the target to have 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Greenko Lands Two Deals For India Pumped Hydro Storage Project” • Renewable energy developer Greenko, based in India, signed two deals for pumped hydropower storage. Adani Group signed for around 6 GWh of storage capacity. And a joint venture of ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel wants 250 MW of renewable energy on an round-the-clock basis. [CleanTechnica]
Please click on the image to enlarge it. (NREL image)
¶ “Sharing The Benefits With A Dynamic Approach To Solar” • Australia’s booming solar industry is creating challenges for electricity network operators, but a new approach can increase solar exports and reduce costs for electricity customers. The Distributed Energy Integration Program has recently tackled the issue. [Australian Renewable Energy Agency]
¶ “XLCC Completes Concept Design For New Cable-Lay Ship” • XLCC, in a collaboration with Salt Ship Design, has completed the concept design of a cable-lay vessel, which it says will be delivered in the first half of 2025. The planned delivery of the XLCC CLV will support the Morocco-UK Power Project, the cable manufacturer said. [reNews]
XLCC CLS (XLCC)
¶ “Radical Shift To Renewable Energy Worldwide Needed To Hit Climate Goals” • The world must shift to take “radical action” by investing $5.7 trillion each year through 2030 to shift away from fossil fuels and ensure the planetary warming they cause doesn’t pass dangerous thresholds, the International Renewable Energy Agency says. [Canada’s National Observer]
¶ “World Bank In Philippines Partnership Studying Renewables As Baseload Energy” • The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation is taking part in a study to assess how technologies like solar-plus-storage hybrids can provide baseload power in the Philippines. It is working with AboitizPower Corporation to do the study jointly. [Energy Storage News]
Philippines’ first hybrid solar PV and battery plant (ACEN image)
¶ “Russian Troops Leaving Chernobyl Nuclear Site ‘Have Acute Radiation Sickness'” • Russian troops leaving the nuclear site at Chernobyl have ‘acute radiation sickness’, an employee at the Public Council at the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management claimed. The Pentagon confirmed Russian troops were pulling out of the nuclear wasteland. [The Mirror]
¶ “Chinchilla Battery To Charge Up Queensland’s Renewable Energy Revolution” • Queensland government-owned utility CS Energy announced plans to build a 100-MW, 200-MWh battery near Chinchilla on the Western Downs. The state government has identified large-scale energy storage as fundamental in the state’s energy transition. [pv magazine Australia]
Artist’s impression of the Chinchilla battery (CS Energy image)
US:
¶ “Renewables Provided 24% Of US Electricity In December” • In December 2021, renewable energy sources accounted for 23.8% of electricity generation across the US. Wind energy alone accounted for 11.9%, while grid-scale solar energy accounted for 2.7%. In December 2019, the US got 17.5% of its electricity from renewable capacity. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Severe Drought And Mandatory Water Cuts Are Pitting Communities Against Each Other In Arizona” • As the climate crisis intensifies, battle lines are beginning to form over water amid a decades-long megadrought. Some Arizona communities are facing the very real possibility of losing access to the precious water that remains. [CNN]
No water, no crops (USDA, public domain)
¶ “Scientists To Biden: World Needs ‘Rapid Transition From Fossil Fuels To Renewable Energy'” • Five scientists sent an open letter to President Joe Biden, writing “with utmost urgency to advise [him] to halt recent moves towards increasing fossil fuel production and instead take bold action to rapidly reduce fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure.” [Common Dreams]
¶ “Vermont Panel Hears Strategies To Store Nuclear Waste In Boreholes” • The Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel’s Federal Nuclear Waste Policy Committee meets to review potential nuclear waste storage issues. This week the panel heard from a company that is proposing to use borehole technology to store such waste. [WAMC] (‽)
Have a spectacularly pleasant day.
geoharvey 
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