World:
¶ “Climate Change Doubled Chance Of South African Floods That Killed 435 People, Analysis Shows” • Human-induced climate change made the extreme rainfall that triggered deadly floods in South Africa in April heavier and twice as likely to happen, according to a rapid analysis published by the World Weather Attribution project. [CNN]
Subtropical Depression Issa (NASA, public domain, cropped)
¶ “Drax Renewable Energy Storage Scheme Approved” • Plans to create a battery storage facility for renewable energy at Drax, in Yorkshire, have been approved, despite objections. The site will hold energy produced at Drax Power Station when demand from the National Grid is low. Selby District Council gave permission for the 0.7 hectare (1.73 acre) site. [BBC]
¶ “East Africa Drought: ‘The Suffering Here Has No Equal'” • In a desolate village in Turkana, Northern Kenya, villagers pray for rain, but it just won’t come. A fourth season of failed rains is causing one of the worst droughts that East Africa has seen in decades, and this village, which is home to 3,600 families, is one of the areas hardest hit. [BBC]
Turkana, Kenya in 2020 (Imani Manyara, Unsplash)
¶ “Russian Operator To Suspend Electricity Supply To Finland” • Citing problems with payments, Russian energy supplier RAO Nordic says it will suspend deliveries of electricity to Finland from May 14. The Finnish grid operator said Russia provided only a small percentage of the country’s electricity and that it could be replaced from other sources. [BBC]
¶ “Fiat 500e Shines In 21% Plugin Share Market Of France” • Plugins continue to rise in France, with last month’s plugin vehicle registrations divided between 12,692 battery EVs (12% of the overall auto market) and 10,234 plugin hybrid EVs (9% share of the auto market). The former jumped 33% year over year while the latter was down by 8%. [CleanTechnica]
Fiat 500e (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Volkswagen Extends The Life Of The E-Up!, Plans ID.2 And ID.1 Models” • Volkswagen announced that the e-Up!, a small electric car the company started selling in 2013, will continue in the lineup until 2025. In addition, a decision has been made to move forward with an ID.2 model and to begin development of an ID.1 car as well. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Norway Turns Its Back On Gas And Oil To Be A Renewable Superpower” • Norway has unveiled plans for a major expansion of its offshore wind energy production by 2040, aiming to turn a country that has built its wealth on oil and gas into an exporter of renewable electricity. The government set a target to develop 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040. [Euronews]
Offshore wind turbine (Grahame Jenkins, Unsplash)
¶ “The Top 5: The Net Zero Commitments of Mining Firms” • Going green comes with expensive up-front costs for mining companies. In some cases, there also arises the need for the invention of new, lower emissions technologies to squeeze out the carbon. Here is a list of the top five companies for net zero commitments. [Saur Energy International]
¶ “France’s Power Sector Further Strained By Extended Outages And Repairs” • France’s nuclear power plants are to have repairs and extended outages, leading to a 25% decrease in power output next winter, an analysis from Baringa Partners LLP said. The shortage will happen just as EU countries scramble for energy as they reduce imports from Russia. [Oil Price]
Cruas nuclear power plant (Yelkrokoyade, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
¶ “Uganda To Build East Africa’s First Nuclear Power Plant” • Uganda is set to build East Africa’s first nuclear power plant after acquiring land for the project, according to Bloomberg. The government did not reveal where the plant will be located. In 2017, Uganda said that it wanted to build a 2,000-MW nuclear power plant by 2032. [AF24NEWS]
¶ “Rolls Royce Explains Why Wylfa And Trawsfynydd Are Top Targets For Mini-Nuclear Plants In The UK” • Rolls Royce SMR says North Wales sites are among its top targets for mini-nuclear plants in the UK. The venture is developing SMR tech with plans to roll-out 12 plants in the UK. The company hopes to provide power to the UK grid by 2029. [North Wales Live]
Artist’s impression of plant (Rolls Royce image)
US:
¶ “Could Solar Power Solve Puerto Rico’s Energy Nightmare?” • After two hurricanes and a major earthquake left Puerto Rico’s power grid in tatters, the US government’s disaster agency set aside a support package of roughly $10 billion. The funds were released nearly two years ago, but almost nothing has been spent. It is a golden opportunity for solar installations. [BBC]
¶ “Interior Nixes Oil And Gas Lease Sales In Alaska And Gulf Of Mexico” • The Department of Interior is cancelling three oil and gas lease sales off the coasts of Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. The leases would have opened up more than a million acres for development in oceans ecosystems vital to endangered species, fishermen, Native peoples, and others. [CleanTechnica]
Alaska (Landon Arnold, Unsplash)
¶ “Ford’s EV Sales Are Way Up, With The F-150 Lightning Leading The Way” • Ford announced very good sales numbers for its EVs, with overall, sales up 139% from 2021. The new F-150 lead in sales, sales of Mustang Mach-E electric crossovers were up 61% in April from May, and April’s E-Transit electric work van sales were up 62.3%. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Energy-Related CO₂ Emissions Rose 6% In 2021” • In 2021, US energy-related CO₂ emissions increased by 296 million metric tons, or 6%, compared with 2020 levels. This increase followed a rise in economic activity and energy consumption when the initial economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside. [CleanTechnica]
Have an ineffably enthralling day.
geoharvey 
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