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World:

¶ “Mitsubishi Tops EV Sales In Germany In April” • Multiple crises are raging (chips, batteries, covid, Ukraine war…), and the German car market has been hit hard. Overall, it dropped 22% last month, and even full battery EVs were down 7%, YOY. Still, the plugin maket share is growing, and a 30% result by year end seems not only possible, but likely. [CleanTechnica]

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV (Alexander Migl, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “European Commission Plans Shift Away From Russian Coal, Oil, And Gas” • The EU assumed it would be able to rely on fossil exports from Russia during the transition to green energy. The Russian invasion of Ukraine ended that. Ursala Von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, announced a $315 billion package to speed up the shift. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “150 GW Of Wind Power From The North Sea – Deal Signed In Denmark” • Probably the most ambitious renewable energy agreement ever was signed on the harbor of Esbjerg, Denmark. The Esbjerg Declaration, which has the subtitle The North Sea as a Green Power Plant of Europe, has targets for offshore wind up to at least 150 GW by 2050. [CleanTechnica]

Building an offshore wind turbine (Rscbelgium, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “CIP To Build A Green Hydrogen Island” • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is looking to build an artificial island in the Danish North Sea. The BrintØ island will be able to produce around 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by the end of the decade, which is about 7% of the EU’s expected hydrogen consumption in 2030. [reNews]

¶ “Renewables Restart GB Power System” • Renewable energy sources have played a role in restarting Great Britain’s electricity system after a successful world-first trial. A live trial in Scotland saw a hydro generator connected to the distribution network self-start, energize the local transmission and distribution network, and power up wind turbines. [reNews]

Hydropower plant (SXC image)

¶ “Alcoa Signs Contract For Renewable Power To Support Restart Of Aluminum Smelter” • Alcoa Corporation announced that it signed a contract for renewable energy to support the planned restart of aluminum smelting in 2024 at the San Ciprián smelter in Spain. The agreement would commence in 2024 and extend to the end of 2033. [Saur Energy International]

¶ “Europe Admits It’ll Have To Burn More Coal As It Tries To Wean Itself Off Russian Energy” • The European Commission fleshed out details of a plan to ramp up use of the EU’s renewable energy and reduce its reliance on Russian fossil fuels. As it did, it acknowledged that existing coal facilities may have to be used for “longer than initially expected.” [CNBC]

German coal-burning power plant (Bodoklecksel, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

¶ “Australian Telecom Giant Announces Transition To Renewable Energy” • Optus, Australia’s second largest telecommunications company, announced its plan to rely solely on renewable energy by the end of 2025, making it the last major phone network in the nation to do so. Telecommunications companies are among Australia’s largest energy users. [Macau Business]

¶ “Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station Delayed A Year By Covid” • The nuclear power station being built at Hinkley Point in Somerset will start operating a year later than planned and will cost an extra £3 billion, it was announced. The delay means the first reactor unit is now scheduled to start operating in June 2027, a year later than planned. [The Guardian]

Construction of new power station at Hinkley Point
(Nick Chipchase, CC BY-SA 2.0)

US:

¶ “Energy Secretary Says Administration Is Working On Relief For Solar Industry Amid Tariff Investigation” • Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the Biden administration is “working on a few things” to help a panicked solar industry that is seeing projects grind to a halt amid a tariffs probe by the Commerce Department. [CNN]

¶ “DOE Announces Multibillion-Dollar Project To Kickstart A Carbon Dioxide Removal Industry In US” • The US DOE is announcing a massive investment in direct air carbon removal projects, in hopes of kickstarting an industry that energy experts say is critical to getting the country’s planet-warming emissions under control. [CNN]

Climeworks carbon capture (Climeworks image)

¶ “Manchin And Republican Lawmakers Grill Interior Chief Over Oil And Gas Drilling Plans Amid High Prices” • Interior Secretary Deb Haaland squared off with lawmakers at a contentious Senate hearing that addressed high gas prices, oil and gas drilling and delays in the department’s plan to hold more drilling lease sales. [CNN]

¶ “Sila Silicon Anode Batteries To Power Mercedes G Class EV” • Mercedes says a version of its battery-electric G Class will use cells from Sila, which has been working for the past 10 years on replacing the conventional graphite anodes in today’s lithium-ion batteries with silicon alternatives. Sila will open a battery facility in Moses Lake, Washington. [CleanTechnica]

Mercedes G Class EV Concept (Image courtesy of Mercedes)

¶ “Energy And Maritime Leaders To Convene For The DOE InnovationXLab Summit” • Top scientists and officials from government, academia, Alaskan Native communities, and industry are heading to the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage, Alaska, to focus on driving energy technologies for a more sustainable Arctic region. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “EIA Expects Solar And Wind To Be Larger Sources Of US Electricity Generation This Summer” • “In our Summer Electricity Outlook, a supplement to our May 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook, we expect the largest increases in US electric power sector generation this summer will come from renewable energy sources.” [CleanTechnica]

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