Opinion:
¶ “Australia’s Energy Crisis: How Can Such An Energy-Rich Country Be So Poor?” • A decade of mismanaging the energy transition by the previous federal government has left Australia in a dire situation. The previous energy minister, Angus Taylor, pilloried South Australia for its push to renewables. Now, it has the cheapest electricity in the nation. [CleanTechnica]
South Australian wind turbines (Simon Yeo, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Reducing Local Opposition To Renewables” • Despite the climate urgency and the favorable economics, local opposition to renewable energy projects is becoming a major impediment to getting the projects up and running. One key to success is early engagement by renewable developers with communities and nearby residents. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Biden Hydrogen Hub Program Doles Out Federal Dollars To Natural Gas Industry” • Recently, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to give a big boost to clean energy and lower carbon emissions in the US. Now it turns out a lot of funding for hydrogen is going to support getting it from natural gas. [CleanTechnica]
Natural gas well – not green (ReAl, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Lithium-Ion Batteries That Last Longer In Extreme Cold” • In temperatures below freezing, cellphones need to be recharged frequently, and electric cars have shorter driving ranges. This is because their lithium-ion batteries’ anodes get sluggish, holding less charge and draining energy quickly. Researchers have come up with a solution. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Artemis Puts The Electric Foil Concept To Work” • Artemis, based in Belfast, launched its “world’s first” commercially viable electric-foil workboat. It can cut through the waves at well over 30 knots and cover up to 60 nautical miles per charge. It uses an advanced “eFoiler” propulsion system that lifts the boat out of the water using twin T-foils. [CleanTechnica]
Artemis electric foil workboat (Artemis, via New Atlas)
¶ “Decarbonization Potential Of Solar Thermal” • In a new article by SolarFlux, CEO Naoise Irwin shares how solar thermal has massive yet under-appreciated decarbonization potential. Almost 6% of US energy consumption could be decarbonized simply by using solar energy for industrial process heat applications, the article says. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Torrential rains kill dozens in southern China as climate change amplifies flood seasons” • Torrential rains in southern China have killed at least 32 people, impacted millions of residents and caused billions of yuan in economic losses, as the country grapples with increasingly devastating flood seasons fueled by climate change. [CNN]
Cloudburst (Linhao Zhang, Unsplash)
¶ “Putin: West Unlikely To Reject Russian Energy For Years” • Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Western countries will not be able to cut themselves off from Russian oil and gas for several years. His comments come after a US official admitted that Russian profits on energy may be higher now than they were before the war. [BBC]
¶ “NSW Announces $1.2 Billion Investment In Renewable Energy” • The New South Wales government has announced its single biggest investment yet in renewable energy infrastructure, committing $1.2 billion to fast-track priority transmission and energy storage projects as the energy sector continues its rapid transformation. [pv magazine Australia]
Transmission lines (CSIRO image)
¶ “Serbia’s Draft Hydrogen Strategy Envisages Production From Renewables To Start By 2025” • Serbia should start producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources by 2025 and increase production to 5,100 tons by 2035 and 20,600 tons by 2050, according to the draft Hydrogen Strategy, which focuses on green hydrogen. [Balkan Green Energy News]
¶ “Enel Starts 152-MW Canadian Onshore Project Build” • Enel Green Power Canada has started the main construction phase of the 152-MW Grizzly Bear Creek wind farm in the province of Alberta. The project, located in the counties of Minburn and Vermilion River, will consist of 34 turbines that are expected to generate 528 GWh of electricity a year. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Enel Green Power image)
¶ “Eastern Cape’s Thyspunt Nuke Power Plant Site A No-Go For Now, Says Regulator” • In South Africa, the National Nuclear Regulator has thrown out Eskom’s application for a nuclear site licence at Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape, citing “information gaps and outdated data.” The decision results from a lack of credible information provided to the NNR. [Daily Maverick]
US:
¶ “Black Fire Becomes New Mexico’s Second Largest Fire In The State’s History” • Two wildfires – the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire just northeast of Santa Fe and the Black Fire in the Gila National Forest – are both burning at the present time. Each, by itself, is larger than the Whitewater-Baldy fire of 2012, which held the record as biggest. [CNN]
Calf Canyon Fire (INCIWEB Firefighters, public domain)
¶ “SoCalGas Wins $750,000 Grant To Develop Renewable Hydrogen” • Southern California Gas Co has received a $750,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to develop a novel hydrogen production system using biogas from dairy farms, landfills, or wastewater treatment plants to create affordable and scalable renewable hydrogen. [Energy Digital]
¶ “US DOE Closes $504.4 Million Loan To Advanced Clean Energy Storage Project For Hydrogen Production And Storage” • Mitsubishi Power Americas and Magnum Development have announced getting a $504.4 million loan guarantee from the DOE’s Loan Programs Office for the world’s largest industrial green hydrogen facility. [Mitsubishi Power]
Have a wonderfully comfy day.
geoharvey 