Opinion:
¶ “Nuclear Power As Response To Climate Crisis Is Like ‘Calling On A Sloth To Put Out A House Fire’ – Times Columnist” • A Times Opinion columnist, Farhad Manjoo, argued that nuclear power entails higher costs and longer periods for construction than renewables. With batteries, solar and wind are easier to put up and have lower costs. [The Deep Dive]
Sloth to the rescue (Jack Charles, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Surprise! Nissan LEAF Batteries Last Much Longer Than Expected” • According to urban legend, LEAF batteries don’t last. It turns out that is simply false. Nic Thomas, Nissan’s marketing director for the UK, told Forbes recently, “Almost all of the [EV] batteries we’ve ever made are still in cars, and we’ve been selling electric cars for twelve years.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Fusion Energy Scientist Speaks To CleanTechnica About Fusion Potential” • In August of 2021, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Lab achieved a nuclear fusion milestone. A fusion reactor at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility yielded of over 1.3 megajoules (0.36 kWh). Now peer-reviewed papers are being published about the research. [CleanTechnica]
Fabled doohickey (Image by James Wickboldt, LLNL)
World:
¶ “Germany Nationalizes Its Biggest Natural Gas Importer” • As part of an €8 billion ($7.9 billion) plan to prevent an energy shortage this winter, Germany is nationalizing Uniper, its biggest importer of natural gas. Uniper provides 40% of the country’s gas supply and is crucial for large companies and private consumers in Europe’s biggest economy. [CNN]
¶ “VW Releases Final Specs And Details For ID. Buzz” • Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of photos and learned a lot of little details about Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz. But, final details haven’t been released until recently in a press release by the company. In this article, I’m going to share some of those details with you. [CleanTechnica]
European model of the VW ID. Buzz (Volkswagen image)
¶ “Nikola Begins Selling The Tre BEV Electric Semi In Europe” • This week, Nikola made another huge stride towards establishing itself as the front-running electric semi startup with an official commercial launch of the brand’s Nikola Tre battery electric truck. It also unveiled a “beta” version, its hydrogen fuel-cell powered Nikola Tre. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “BYD Partners With Inchcape To Bring Its EVs To Belgium And Luxembourg” • BYD has been ramping up production of EVs and opening new production facilities in China and has also recently announced plans for new plants outside China as well. Through smart partnerships with local firms, BYD is taking EVs to the world. [CleanTechnica]
BYD EV (BYD image)
¶ “Hitachi Energy To Supply HVDC Converter Station To Link Quebec And NYC” • Transmission Developers Inc, a Blackstone renewable power developer, picked Hitachi Energy to supply a high-voltage direct current converter station that will be a key part of the Champlain Hudson Power Express HVDC line from Québec to the New York City area. [T&D World]
¶ “Daimler Launches First Mercedes-Branded Electric Semi” • In big news for the shipping industry, Daimler Truck revealed the production version of its first-ever, heavy-duty, long-haul battery electric semi truck: the Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul. It can haul 22 tons of cargo 500 km, or 311 miles, before it needs to be recharged. [CleanTechnica]
Daimler truck (Daimler Trucks, via Bloomberg)
¶ “Amazon Adds New Projects To Clean Energy Portfolio” • Amazon has added 2.7 GW of clean energy capacity as part of the latest expansion of its renewable energy portfolio. Amazon now has a total of 379 renewable energy projects across 21 countries, with 154 wind and solar farms and 225 rooftop solar projects, for a total of 18.5 GW of capacity. [reNews]
¶ “Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group announced a $6.2 billion plan to eliminate fossil fuels and carbon emissions from its operations by the end of the decade.” • The world’s fourth-largest iron ore producer expects to save $818 million a year from 2030 based on current prices of diesel, gas and carbon credits, a statement says. [Bay News 9]
(Also see the video, “Business as usual is over,” at CNN)
FMG ore train (Geez-oz, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
US:
¶ “Senate Approves Treaty To Combat Climate Crisis” • The Senate ratified an international climate treaty to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, potent greenhouse gases used in air conditioning and refrigeration. The vote was 69-27. Many Republican senators objected because China, as a developing country, got better terms than the US did. [CNN]
¶ “Treasury Regulations And Tax Insights Into The Inflation Reduction Act” • The Inflation Reduction Act is a big step in the fight to save humanity from the effects of climate change. In a panel discussion on preparing to implement the IRA from within the cleantech industry, panelists agreed that it could bring big benefits, one of which is stability. [CleanTechnica]
Solar array (Raphael Cruz, Unsplash)
¶ “Five Things To Know About The Updated EV Charging Tax Credit” • The Inflation Reduction Act contains a tax credit that can be used for EV charging infrastructure. The Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit offers an incentive for those investing in infrastructure that is used to refuel vehicles that run on certain alternative fuels. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New York Seeks Bids For 2 GW Of Large-Scale Renewable Energy Projects” • New York Governor Kathy Hochul opened up the state’s sixth competitive solicitation calling for 2,000 MW or more of new large-scale renewable energy projects. These new projects will have the capacity to power at least 600,000 New York homes. [Solar Builder]
Have an immensely cheerful day.
geoharvey 
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