Opinion:
¶ “Searching For More Oil As The World Heats Up” • The world needs to cut down on oil production, but it is going in the wrong direction. Namibia, Botswana, and Congo want to get the same benefits from their land that Western countries used to become wealthy, but their need is to address poverty. “Our priority is not to save the planet,” one official said. [CNN]
Gaborone, capital of Botswana (Justice Hubane, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Bloomberg Declares That The Tipping Point Has Been Reached!” • A report by BloombergNEF declares that the tipping point for battery EV ascendency has been reached globally. Although acceptance of EVs varies from country to country, a pattern has emerged. “Once 5% of new-car sales go fully electric, everything changes …” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Will Renewable Energy Destabilize The Grid? Yale 360 Has The Answer” • An article in Yale 360 tackles the lies, distortions, and half-truths that surround the question of whether renewable energy can provide a reliable source of electricity at all times or needs thermal generation “base load” capacity to be dependable. Three myths are examined. [CleanTechnica]
Hybrid offshore renewable energy (Courtesy of SINN Power)
World:
¶ “Russia Waging Gas War With Nord Stream 1 Cuts: Zelensky” • Russian energy firm Gazprom announced it is reducing gas flows into Germany again to allow work on a turbine on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. It has been running well below capacity for weeks. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said this was simply “gas blackmail” against Europe. [BBC]
¶ “The Queensland Government Is Electrifying” • To speed up the process of electrifying the vehicles on the road in Australia’s Sunshine State, the Queensland government is proposing to transition its fleet to electric over the next four years. That means 100% of eligible Queensland government fleet passenger vehicles would be zero emission by 2026. [CleanTechnica]
City of Gold Coast (City of Gold Coast, Unsplash)
¶ “European Logging And Forest Management Company Unveils Electric Timber Truck” • SCA, a manager of forestry operations in over 2.6 million hectares of forest land in northern Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, unveiled a new logging truck for its wood business. The world’s first electric timber truck, it has a capacity of 80 tonnes. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Scania Helps DB Schenker Go Fossil-Free On Swedish Island Of Gotland” • Gotland is trying to counter the effects of climate change by working towards a goal of being fossil-free in 2040, five years ahead of Sweden’s national deadline. For its part, Schenker Åkeri AB is to change all distributional transportation to fossil-free with the help of Scania. [CleanTechnica]
Windmill on Gotland (Nikola Johnny Mirkovic, Unsplash)
¶ “India Adds Energy Storage Obligation Policy To Renewable Energy Purchase Scheme” • India’s government has added an Energy Storage Obligation alongside its Renewable Purchase Obligation for the first time. A government thinktank predicted around 180 GWh of demand for batteries for stationary energy storage systems by 2030. [Energy Storage News]
¶ “Nordex Swoops On 148-MW Finnish Wind” • Nordex has secured a 148-MW turbine order for the Karahka wind project in Finland. The contract is for 25 N163/5.X turbines and includes a 35-year service contract. Nordex will supply and install the turbines in spring 2024. The company will install its Advanced Anti-Icing System on the turbines. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Nordex image)
¶ “Victoria Bans Private, Embedded Power Networks – Unless They’re 100% Renewable” • The Victorian state government has made good on its election promise to stop private embedded power networks in the state, announcing plans to start banning them in 2023, with the exception of networks that run on 100% renewable energy. [Renew Economy]
¶ “In France, The Reactor Of The Oldest Nuclear Power Plant Was Shut Down Due To Heat” • The largest French energy generating company, EDF, has shut down several of its managed nuclear power plants due to record heat and a swollen river, according to reports. It also seems that Russia has had similar problems. [News84Media.com]
Saint-Laurent nuclear plant (Remi Jouan, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
US:
¶ “Green Ammonia To Rescue US Farmers From Fertilizer Supply Woes” • Much of the global ammonia fertilizer supply chain relies on natural gas, and the ongoing spike in natural gas prices is pushing up fertilizer prices worldwide. One solution is to make ammonia locally, wherever there is distributed energy and water, from green hydrogen. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “US Developer Acquires Four Texan Storage Projects” • Cypress Creek Renewables has added 400-MW, 600-MWh to its storage portfolio after acquiring four Texas standalone energy storage projects from Black Mountain Energy Storage. The projects, each 100 MW, are currently under development and expected to be placed in service in 2024. [reNews]
Solar + storage (Cypress Creek Renewables image)
¶ “Governor Hochul Announces Approval Of New York’s Largest Solar Facility In Genesee County” • New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the State Office of Renewable Energy Siting has approved a permit to Hecate Energy Cider Solar LLC to develop a 500-MW solar facility in the Genesee County towns of Oakfield and Elba. [WIVB]
¶ “Polis Sets Goal For Achieving 100% Renewable Energy In Colorado” • According to a news release from the Office of Governor Jared Polis, Colorado is “on the path” to achieving 100% renewable energy by 2040. In 2021, Colorado agreed with New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah to develop a collective “Western Inter-States Hydrogen Hub.” [OutThere Colorado]
Have a remarkably gratifying day.
geoharvey 