Opinion:
¶ “COP27: Why The Latest UN Climate Conference Matters” • COP27 is reckoned to be the world’s best hope of progress on the climate issue. The global effort to cut emissions is “woefully inadequate” and means the world is on track for “catastrophe”, the UN warned last week. But the meeting in Egypt is shaping up to be prickly and confrontational. [BBC]
Promenade at Sharm El-Sheikh (Marc Ryckaert, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Why High Temperatures Can Make Planes Too Heavy To Take Off” • Our planet’s rising temperatures are making it harder for planes to take off at certain airports, presenting yet another challenge to civil aviation. As heatwaves become more frequent, the problem could extend to more flights, forcing airlines to leave passengers on the ground. [CNN]
¶ “How A Sand Battery Could Transform Clean Energy” • In western Finland, four young engineers believe they may have an answer to the challenge of energy storage. They are working at the Vatajankoski power plant, 270 km (168 miles) north-west of Finland’s capital, Helsinki, on storage using a remarkably simple, abundant, and cheap medium: sand. [BBC]
Sand battery (Polar Night Energy image)
World:
¶ “Zelensky accuses Russia of ‘energy terrorism’” • Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Kremlin of resorting to “energy terrorism” as Russian troops make few gains on the battlefield and are likely to be forced to withdraw from Kherson. Mr Zelensky said 4.5 million people were without power after Russian attacks on its energy network. [BBC]
¶ “Norway’s BEVs Still Growing Well, Even While PHEVs Fall Away” • Norway’s auto market saw 86.4% plugin EV share in October, down year on year, from 89.3%. Full electrics grew by 7.5% YOY, but a drop in plugin hybrids outweighed that. Overall, 12,558 units sold, up 8.5% YOY, and above the pre-2020 seasonal norm of 11,635 units. [CleanTechnica]
Volkswagen ID.4 (Ssu, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “COP27 Policy Brief Looks At How To Enable Southern Africa’s Transition To A Low-Carbon Electricity System” • The Southern African Power Pool operates four competitive electricity markets between 12 member countries. It has 40% of total electricity demand and about 40% of total carbon emissions in Africa. Here is a look at it. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “GM Plans New EV Startup Business Model For Europe” • Five years ago, General Motors sold its European operations to Stellantis. It looked at the time as though GM was through with Europe. Then earlier this year, GM CEO Mary Barra surprised the automotive world by announcing the company was planning to re-enter the European market. [CleanTechnica]
Cadillac LYRIQ (Courtesy of Cadillac)
¶ “NSW Officially Declares Its Third Renewable Energy Zone” • The New South Wales government has formally declared the state’s third Renewable Energy Zone. The South West REZ is in the state’s western Riverina region. Initial expressions of interest in the zone are set to attract generation proposals. The planned capacity is 2.5 GW. [pv magazine Australia]
¶ “Irish Wind Output For October Nudges 50%” • Wind Energy Ireland has released its October Wind Energy report, which shows that wind energy provided 47% per cent of Ireland’s electricity in October 2022. The latest figures mean that wind energy has supplied 33% of Ireland’s electricity demand this year to the end of October. [reNews]
Wind turbines in Ireland (Nordex image)
¶ “Sizewell C Nuclear Power Plant ‘Under Review’ As UK Seeks Spending Cuts” • Plans to build a new nuclear power plant in Suffolk are under review and could be delayed or scrapped as the government seeks to make sweeping spending cuts. The reactor is estimated to cost £30 billion and is expected to provide up to 7% of the UK’s total electricity needs. [The Guardian]
US:
¶ “This Little Autonomous Vehicle Getting Use At New York’s JFK International Airport” • Navya, a little autonomous shuttle company, is not usable in nearly as many environments as the tech from other companies, but it is effective on various simple routes. The company’s latest contract is with New York City’s JFK International Airport. [CleanTechnica]
Autonomous vehicle (Navya image)
¶ “California To Spend Another $1.8 Billion On Electric School Buses” • California has spent $1.2 billion on electrifying school buses over the past 20 years. Another $1.8 billion is set to be spent in the next five years on zero-emissions school buses and associated charging infrastructure. A report includes guidance on how it should be spent. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Napa Valley’s Frank Family Vineyards Furthers “Green to Our Roots” Ethos With A 100% Renewable Energy-Powered Winery” • Frank Family Vineyards announced that it has enrolled in Marin Clean Energy’s Deep Green Program. The program allows the winery to source 100% renewable energy from locally produced wind and solar power. [Wine Industry Advisor]
Vineyard (Daniel Salgado, Unsplash)
¶ “DTE Energy Accelerates Schedule For Retiring Coal, But Not Enough To Please Environmental Groups” • DTE Energy filed a 20-year energy plan that includes a faster retirement of its coal plants along with other steps to reduce carbon emissions. It will close a number of coal-burning plants early. At least one is to be converted to a gas-fired peaker plant. [Michigan Radio]
¶ “What’s Driving Maine’s Surging Electricity Costs? Despite Campaign Rhetoric, Not Renewable Energy” • Electricity and energy prices are major issues in Maine’s gubernatorial race. Former Republican Gov Paul LePage blames Maine’s renewable energy policies, but the key cost driver within the New England regional power grid is natural gas. [Maine Public]
Have a thoroughly unworried day.
geoharvey 
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