Opinion:
¶ “Can The Defense Production Act Jump-Start A Transition To Renewable Energy?” • Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, Bill McKibben proposed a radically simple idea: President Joe Biden should invoke the Defense Production Act to undermine Russia’s economic power over the EU by having US manufacturers make millions of electric heat pumps. [Sierra Club]
Outdoor heatpump units (Kristoferb, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Accelerate Energy Transition To Protect National Security” • With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an energy crisis has yet again brought home that our nation’s continued reliance on fossil fuels leaves us vulnerable to unfriendly foreign actors and unstable global markets. To secure our economy, we must transition to a clean-energy future. [pv magazine USA]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Ocean Energy? River Power? There’s A Toolkit For That” • Our water is a renewable energy resource. Called marine energy, it is equivalent to about 80% of the US annual electricity needs. Now, marine energy developers can start building this future faster and cheaper with the Marine and Hydrokinetic Toolkit, a huge, searchable knowledge hub. [CleanTechnica]
Coming ocean energy technology (US DOE image)
¶ “Suddenly, Heat Pump Clothes Dryers Are Having A Moment” • A heat pump is an energy efficient appliance that can do much more than heat a building. Heat pumps can also deliver AC, and now it turns out they can run clothes dryers, which is a big deal because laundry is one of the leading energy-sucking features of the modern household. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “UN Report On Climate Crisis Confirms The World Already Has Solutions – But Politics Are Getting In The Way” • The world is careening toward levels of global warming with irreversible impacts, a landmark report says. We have the solutions – the only thing preventing us from using them is political will and interests in fossil fuels. [CNN]
Coal-burning power plant (Jason Blackeye, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “IPCC Scientists Report Five Ways To Save The Planet” • UN scientists have laid out a plan to avoid the worst impacts of rising temperatures. The IPCC report essentially calls for a revolution in how we produce energy and power our world. To avoid very dangerous warming, carbon emissions need to peak within three years, and fall rapidly after that. [BBC]
¶ “BYD Has Ended Production Of Conventional Cars Powered by Gasoline” • The last BYD passenger car without a plug rolled off the line in China at the end of February. Since then, every one built has been either a plug-in hybrid or a battery-electric car, according to Electrive, which cites several different Chinese sources for its report. [CleanTechnica]
BYD Han EV (Courtesy of BYD via Electrive)
¶ “Electric Vans Are 25% Cheaper To Own Than Diesels” • The European advocacy group Transport & Environment is on a mission to accelerate the transition to EVs. Their latest survey shows battery-electric vans average 25% cheaper to own than equivalent diesels, with a cost per kilometer of €0.15 for electrics and €0.20 for diesels. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “UPS Begins EQuad Electric Bike Trials In London” • The UPS vice president of fleet maintenance and engineering, told Reuters that UPS is about to begin trials in London of 100 eQuad electric cargo bikes designed and built by UK firm Fernhay. The eQuad is electric-assisted, has a top speed of about 25 km/h (15.5 mph) and carries a load of up to 200 kg (441 lb). [CleanTechnica]
UPS eQuad (Courtesy of Fernhay)
¶ “Enel Green Power To Build 3-GW Solar Panel Factory In Italy” • Italian renewable energy firm Enel Green Power signed a grant agreement with the European Commission to build a solar panel gigafactory in Italy. The facility will be built at EGP’s 3Sun solar PV plant in Catania, Sicily, increasing the PV-making capacity from 200 MW to 3 GW. [Power Technology]
¶ “Serious Setback For Renewable Energy Goals As Budget Backs Away From Transition Support” • The Australian federal budget was handed down last week, and among all the cost-of-living reliefs, fuel concessions, benefits to home buyers, and so on, there was notable silence on one major aspect – the transition to renewable energy. [Monash Lens]
Offshore wind turbine (Grahame Jenkins, Unsplash)
¶ “Boris Johnson Blows Cold On Onshore Wind Faced With 100-Plus Rebel MPs” • Pro-green cabinet ministers are frustrated by Boris Johnson’s decision to back away from ambitious onshore windfarm plans for England, as it emerged more than 100 Tory MPs are lobbying against the policy. He will focus on nuclear, offshore wind, and natural gas. [The Guardian]
US:
¶ “Volunteer State (Finally) Discovers Solar Power – And With A Regenerative Twist” • Tennessee is adding a 70-MW solar project to its stable of PV arrays. This particular project is also of interest because it sports a regenerative agriculture angle, and that could help spark more solar activity in a state where more than 40% of the land is farmland. [CleanTechnica]
Farming with PVs in Tennessee (Silicon Ranch via Cision)
¶ “Democrats To Big Oil: Suspend Buybacks And Dividends During Ukraine War” • Two top House Democrats are pushing the CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, and Shell to scrap their stock buyback and dividends during the war in Ukraine and shift funding for those shareholder rewards towards lowering prices at the gas pump. [CNN]
¶ “Hertz Buys 65,000 New Electric Cars From Polestar” • Hertz is proving to be a major player in the switch to electrification, and is following up its 100,000 unit Tesla order with another massive electric car order. This time, from Swedish performance brand Polestar. The 65,000 order is more than double Polestar’s entire sales for last year (29,000 units). [CleanTechnica]
Have an immensely contented day.
geoharvey 
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