Opinion:
¶ “Good News On The 2022 Climate Action Front” • Positive climate action is making a difference. Here are some positive environmental stories from 2022, with a focus on environmental responsibility, the welfare of the society, and the responsibility of individuals for contributing towards social and environmental progression. [CleanTechnica]
Bison (Jonathan Mast, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “How Do We Know Humans Triggered Earth’s Warming?” • For more than 30 years top scientists worldwide have come together every several years to draft a report on climate change and what causes it. In the latest version of their report, they said: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” [ABC 6]
¶ “Hemp For Victory! Researchers Make Better And Cheaper Batteries From Plant Waste” • Texas-based Bemp Research says it developed a lithium-sulfur battery based on use hemp to make a boron-carbide material. It says its battery would overcome lithium-ion battery challenges on cost, scalability, performance, weight, and recyclability. [CleanTechnica]
Hemp (USDA image)
World:
¶ “UN Nuclear Watchdog To Inspect Ukrainian Sites” • The UN’s nuclear watchdog says it will send a team to inspect two sites in Ukraine at the government’s request. Officials said International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors will examine the sites for signs of “undeclared nuclear activities.” Russia has accused Kyiv of preparing to use dirty bombs. [BBC]
¶ “The Ships Full Of Gas Waiting Off Europe’s Coast” • Dozens of giant ships packed full of liquefied natural gas lie off the coasts of Spain, Portugal, the UK, and other European nations. Europe has about 95% of the gas it needs for winter in storage, so the ships will have to wait to unload. but there are other factors making the matter complicated. [BBC]
LNG tanker (青空白帆, CC-BY-SA 2.1 Japan, cropped)
¶ “Heat Pumps Get A Boost In UK And Newfoundland” • Heat pumps really scare natural gas, oil, and propane peddlers. It’s all about efficiency. Air source heat pumps are the low carbon future of home heating. With a £5,000 government grant and a 0% VAT, heat pumps will play an essential part in the UK achieving its Net Zero goals by 2050. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “WEDUSEA To Test World’s Largest Wave Energy Prototype” • WEDUSEA, a collaboration between fourteen industrial and academic partners coordinated by Ireland’s Ocean Energy, is ready to begin testing of a large scale wave energy device. It will launch the €19.6 million project this week at the Conference on Ocean Energy in Spain. [CleanTechnica]
Wave energy prototype (Courtesy of Ocean Energy)
¶ “Solar Power Is The Fastest Way To Reduce Dependency On Russian Gas In Europe” • Solar power is growing rapidly in Europe due partly to the need to reduce dependence on Russian gas. Statkraft’s Low Emissions Scenario now shows that Europe will have significantly more solar power by 2030 than expected before the war in Ukraine. [Yahoo Finance]
Australia:
¶ “’We Need Everything, Everywhere, All At Once:’ Industry Calls For Energy Storage Scheme” • The push for a Renewable Energy Storage Acceleration Scheme backed by the federal government and the state of Victoria was launched by the Smart Energy Council, the Clean Energy Investor Group and Climate Action Network Australia. [Renew Economy]
Victoria Big Battery (Image supplied)
¶ “Massive Supercharger Rollout In NSW” • The Australian state of New South Wales is set for a massive supercharger rollout. The NSW state government (Liberal) will invest “$39.4 million in the first round of Fast Charging Grants to co-fund 86 new fast and ultra-fast EV charging stations. Each station will have four to fifteen bays.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Renewable Storage Solution In Air?” • The Silver City Energy Storage Centre, to be built in a decommissioned mine at Broken Hill, New South Wales, will use compressed air technology developed by Canadian energy storage company Hydrostor Inc. Hydroster says the 200-MW facility will be among the biggest projects of its type in the world. [InDaily]
Rendering of Silver City Energy Storage Centre
¶ “AGL Study Looks To Converts Coal-Power Stations Into Renewable Storage” • AGL will investigate the feasibility of retrofitting gas-fired power stations into energy storage facilities using thermal storage in a $1 million study supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. AGL will study using a 200-MW generating unit. [Utility Magazine]
US:
¶ “PPL To Work On Transmitting Renewable Power From Offshore To New England Mainland” • PPL Corp has reached an agreement with Elia Group to develop methods to transmit power generated by offshore “wind farms” to customers in New England. That can help customers and advance the utility’s environmental goals, according to PPL. [WFMZ]
Offshore wind farm (Carl Raw, Unsplash)
¶ “University Of Oklahoma Engineers Help Build Power Grid Of The Future” • Extreme weather, natural disasters and increased demand are taking a toll on America’s century-old infrastructure. Researchers at the University of Oklahoma were given funding to study thermal energy storage in commercial and residential buildings to promote renewable energy. [Newswise]
¶ “Five Walmart Suppliers Team Up On Renewable Energy Buy” • Five Walmart suppliers teamed up to purchase renewable energy from a Kansas wind farm, the retailer announced last Tuesday. The deal is part of the retailer’s plan to reduce 1 billion metric tons worth of emissions from throughout its supply chain by 2030. [Supply Chain Dive]
Have an appropriately glorious day.
geoharvey 