Opinion:
¶ “California Can’t Count On Diablo Canyon’s Nuclear Power, So It Should Spend Now On Renewables” • Governor Newsom’s proposal to extend the life of California’s last nuclear plant would cost at least $1.4 billion. That money should be used to accelerate renewable energy, transmission, and storage projects, instead of nursing an old power plant. [Yahoo News]
Diablo Canyon nuclear plant (Tracey Adams, CC-BY-SA 2.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Enhanced Geothermal Technology Cracks The 24/7 Energy Code” • The US DOE has been supporting R&D on a new type of 24/7 thermal energy called enhanced geothermal systems, and one of its private sector partners just pulled in $138 million in new funding to complete the construction of two geothermal power plants in the US. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “The ‘Spongy’ Cities Of The Future” • Two parks in Auckland are designed to collect excess stormwater, soak it up like a sponge, and slowly release it back into a creek. The parks are flanked on both sides by public housing. The parks are “designed to flood so that the houses don’t,” says Julie Fairey, chair of the Puketāpapa local board. [BBC]
Park in Auckland, New Zealand (AR, Unsplash)
¶ “Rechargeable Aluminum Battery” • Considered as an energy storage medium in a battery, aluminum has an energy density 50 times that of lithium ion, and it is cheap. Swiss scientists believe the technology can be a storehouse of renewable energy for the cold European winters. The aluminum battery is claimed to be good for long-term storage. [Nation World News]
World:
¶ “The World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Passenger Trains Are Here” • The future of environmentally friendly travel might just be here – and it’s Germany that’s leading the charge, with the first ever rail line to run entirely on hydrogen-powered trains. Five are now running, and nine more are being manufactured by Alstom for use in Lower Saxony. [CNN]
Hydrogen-powered train (Alstom image)
¶ “UK Energy Crisis Is ‘Bigger Than The Pandemic’” • The UK will have to find an answer to soaring energy bills soon or risk a humanitarian crisis. But freezing gas and electricity prices over the next two winters could cost the government over £100 billion ($118 billion), more than it spent paying millions of people’s salaries during the pandemic. [CNN]
¶ “France’s Emmanuel Macron To Mend Algeria Ties As Energy Crisis Bites” • French President Emmanuel Macron is going to Algeria hoping to repair fractured relations with a nation whose oil and gas reserves have new strategic significance because of the energy crisis. The countries have had a tense relationship, but both have signalled a desire for a reset. [BBC]
Ahaggar National Park (Azzedine Rouichi, Unsplash)
¶ “Solar Power Is Booming In Germany As Russia Turns Down The Gas” • People on the frontlines of Europe’s gas crisis are scrambling to get solar panels for their homes and businesses as they confront a “perfect storm” that’s sending energy prices to record levels. The crisis results from pressure applied by Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. [CNN]
¶ “Great Wall Motors To Go 100% Electric!” • Great Wall Motors is a Chinese carmaker that has had a presence in Australasia for the past 13 years. GWM plans to have 80% of its Haval sub-brand become plug-ins, either as hybrids or full battery, by 2025. Not only that, but they will stop offering petrol and diesel completely by 2030. [CleanTechnica]
ORA Adora (Image courtesy of GWM)
¶ “Oil And Gas Powerhouse Norway To Invest In Indian Solar Project, Sees Country As Priority Market” • In Norway, pension company KLP and the Climate Investment Fund are set to invest in a 420-MW solar project under development in Rajasthan. Norway’s Indian Embassy said the fund is to allocate about $1 billion to projects over five years. [CNBC]
¶ “Octopus Energy Makes First Investment To Develop UK’s Largest Battery” • Octopus Energy Group just launched the Octopus Energy Development Partnership, and it made a €220 million debut investment in renewables developer Exagen to build new green energy and increase the UK’s energy storage capacity rapidly. [Renewable Energy Magazine]
Workers on a wind turbine (Octopus Energy image)
¶ “Japan Turns Back To Nuclear Power In Significant Policy Shift As Fuel Prices Soar” • Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that Japan will restart idled nuclear plants and will also consider developing next-generation reactors, in a policy reversal that will see the nation turn back toward atomic energy as fuel prices soar worldwide. [KRDO]
US:
¶ “Four Months Into ‘Danger Season,’ Here’s Our Extreme Heat, Flood, And Fire Tally” • The US is four months into Danger Season, and we have another two months or so to go before the season hopefully starts to wind down. Meteorologists did a study of the weather events that have taken place this year. Here is what they found. [CleanTechnica]
Fire fighter (Joe Bradshaw, Bureau of Land Management)
¶ “Tritium Completes US EV Charger Factory In Record Time” • Tritium, an Australian maker of DC fast charging equipment, announced the opening of a factory in Tennessee. The facility will have six production lines and employ 500 people. At full production, it will be able to manufacture up to 30,000 DC fast chargers per year. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Toyota And NREL Partner To Develop MW-Scale Fuel Cell Systems” • Toyota Motor North America has announced it is partnering with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to construct, install, and test a 1-MW proton exchange membrane fuel cell power generation system at the NREL Flatirons campus in Arvada, Colorado. [pv magazine USA]
Have an endearingly helpful day.
geoharvey 
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