Opinion:
¶ “Having Trouble With High Dealer Prices? Don’t Be Afraid To Reach Out To The Manufacturer!” • For traditional automakers, everything goes through dealers. And dealers can take big advantage of market conditions. One dealer wanted a $70,000 “market adjustment” for a Ford F-150 Lightning. A call to the manufacturer can help. [CleanTechnica]
Ford F-150 Lightning (Ford Motor Company image)
¶ “Renewable Energy, Not Gas, Is The Answer To South Africa’s Long-Term Energy Security” • Amidst soaring gas and oil prices and global shifts in energy markets, many decision makers in the private and public sectors in South Africa seem intent to invest in gas. But if we really want long-term energy security, we must look to renewable energy. [IOL]
¶ “Why Green Ammonia Will Be The Workhorse Of EU’s Future Hydrogen Economy” • Europe is at a crossroads now. It has a dual objective of reaching its ambitious 2030 climate targets, while quickly reducing its dependency on Russia’s fossil fuels. These seemingly competing objectives can be achieved by prioritizing green ammonia. [EURACTIV.com]
Fertilizing an Italian meadow (Etienne Girardet, Unsplash)
¶ “Commentary On Decarbonising The Grid Misses The Mark On Batteries And Nuclear” • Some rather outlandish claims were published about the costs of batteries and nuclear power in the past week. The claim on batteries makes them out to be absurdly expensive, and the claim on nuclear is based on the cost of a plant that has never been built. [The Guardian]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Are Having A (Big) Moment” • There is a lot of news about solid oxide fuel cells. Shell signed a deal with the firm Ceres to test their solid oxide technology to produce green hydrogen in India, and the iconic auto maker Ferrari has hooked up with the US company Bloom Energy to decarbonize its factory in Italy. [CleanTechnica]
Solid oxide fuel cells (Courtesy of Ceres)
World:
¶ “LG Moves Into The EV Charging Business” • Together with energy services company GS Energy and IT service provider GS Neotek, LG purchased AppleMango, an EV charging station company. With their combined expertise, they will be able to work as a “one stop shop” for people looking to install EV charging stations. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Hard, Round, Tiltable Sails Add Wind Power To Energy Efficient Shipping” • The firm Norsepower Oy Ltd has been trying to bring wind power back to maritime shipping with sails that look like oversized smokestacks. An agreement with the Nefco, the Nordic Green Bank, will enable Norsepower to ramp up production. [CleanTechnica]
Ship with Norsepower sails (Courtesy of Norsepower)
¶ “PM Invites Chinese Companies To Invest In Renewable Energy” • Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan is open to investment and the coalition government is taking steps to remove all impediments for further facilitation of investors. He said deepening China-Pakistan economic cooperation is critical to Pakistan s socio-economic uplift. [The Nation]
¶ “Third-Gen Formula E Car Shows Up At Goodwood Festival Of Speed” • Last week, the wraps came off the latest generation of Formula E racecar. Not only did people get a look at it sitting parked somewhere, they saw it in action, going around the track at the Goodwood House. The car is a big step up, according to FIA Formula E. [CleanTechnica]
FIA Formula E (FIA Formula E image)
¶ “Offshore Wind Enjoys 21 GW Of Growth In 2021” • Offshore wind enjoyed its best-ever year in 2021, with just over 21 GW of new capacity connected to the grid, according to the latest Global Offshore Wind Report from the Global Wind Energy Council. The report shows there was a three-fold increase in grid connection worldwide from 2020 to 2021. [reNews]
US:
¶ “Environmental Groups Sue Biden Administration Over Climate And Wildlife Impact Of Drilling Lease Sale” • The environmental groups argue that when the federal government chose to put the Wyoming parcels up for bid, it failed to address the impacts on groundwater and threatened wildlife such as the sage-grouse, pronghorn, and mule deer. [CNN]
Migrating pronghorn (Mark Gocke, USDA, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
¶ “Every Rivian Vehicle’s First Charge Will Soon Come From The Wind” • Later this year, the vehicle test track at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois, facility is going to get something really cool: a wind turbine that’s hundreds of feet tall. The turbine is rated for 2.8 MW, and can generate up to 10 million kWh of electricity annually. And that is just for starters. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ford Dealers Can Now Call In Top Experts In A Snap” • While auto makers and dealers do their best to make sure technicians know how to work on every vehicle that the brand sells, they really can’t make the knowledge and skills of the company’s top engineers and experts available to local dealers. Or so I thought. Ford proved otherwise. [CleanTechnica]
Ford PR image (Ford PR image)
¶ “Leeward Locks Debt, Tax Equity For California Solar-Plus-Storage Project” • Leeward Renewable Energy LLC has secured construction financing and tax equity commitments to back a 100-MW solar project in California with a 20-MW, 50-MWh battery. The funding is for the Rabbitbrush solar-plus-storage project in Kern County. [Renewables Now]
¶ “Simply Blue, TotalEnergies To Develop Oregon Floater” • Simply Blue Energy and TotalEnergies are teaming up to develop a floating wind project off the southern Oregon coast. The three areas are each roughly 135 square miles in size within two zones identified by the Interior Department near Coos and Curry Counties. [reNews]
Have an absurdly superb day.
geoharvey 