Opinion:
¶ “‘Africa’s COP’ Made Some Big Promises. Here Is How To Deliver” • COP27, called the “African COP,” put the continent center stage in the global effort to fight the causes and effects of climate change. The African Development Bank says climate change costs Africa up to $15 billion per year and will cost the continent up to $50 billion per year by 2050. [CNN]
Baobab trees at sunrise (Yasmine Arfaoui, Unsplash)
¶ “Reminder: You Can Donate Solar Panels To Ukraine” • Russia is bombing Ukrainian power stations to make people miserable as winter cold sets in. Simply put, this is terrorism. If you want to help more Ukrainians get power via solar PVs, here’s a reminder that you can donate to organizations getting Ukrainians such technology. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “How Long Does A Tesla Battery Last In Australia?” • The warranty on a Tesla battery is 160,000 km (100,000 miles). But I am fast coming to the conclusion that this figure is no longer relevant. I read recently that some battery recyclers in the US are complaining that the batteries are not degrading fast enough and they need more stock. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model 3 (Vlad Tchompalov, Unsplash)
Science and Technology:
¶ “BYD May Begin Sodium-Ion Battery Production In 2023” • Rumors flying about in China claim BYD plans to be producing sodium-ion battery cells in the second quarter of 2023 and use them to power some of its own EVs. The company claims those rumors are false, but they come to us from a source generally regarded as reliable. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Ukraine Battles To Restore Power After Russian Strikes Leave ‘Vast Majority’ Of People Without Electricity” • Ukraine raced to restore power across the country, a day after Russia sent a new barrage of missiles to target critical infrastructure, resulting in the temporary shutdown of most power plants, leaving the “vast majority” of people without electricity. [CNN]
Slovakians showing support for Ukraine (Patrik Velich, Unsplash)
¶ “New Floating Offshore Wind Project Aims For 999 MW” • The world’s largest floating offshore wind array clocked in at 88 MW just last week, and now here comes another one more than ten times its size. If all goes according to plan, the proposed Nao Victoria offshore wind farm will bring 999 MW of floating wind turbines to Spain. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Germany Plans ‘Windfall Tax’ On Wind And Solar Generators” • Germany is to table a €130 per megawatt hour cap on the earnings of wind, solar and nuclear generators, according to a draft law seen by Bloomberg News. The law is scheduled to pass the upper house of the German Parliament on December 16 and go into effect on January 1. [reNews]
Wind turbine (BayWa image)
¶ “Ridge Clean Energy Seeks Permit For UK hybrid Project” • Ridge Clean Energy submitted a planning application for a 49.9 MW hybrid renewable energy project in East Cambridgeshire. Through an array of ecological enhancements, the site aims to deliver a net gain of 66% to local biodiversity. Existing hedgerows are to be built up for increased screening. [reNews]
¶ “EirGrid And RTE Sign Key Celtic Interconnector Contracts” • Ireland’s electricity grid operator, EirGrid, and Reseau de Transport d’Electricite, its French counterpart, have signed key technical and financial agreements for the Celtic Interconnector. The 700 MW power line will be 575 km (357 miles) long, running between Ireland and France. [reNews]
Cable (NKT image)
¶ “Renewable Power Capital And Eelpower Agree On 1-GW Storage Venture” • Renewable Power Capital has announced its entry into the battery storage market in Great Britain, working with Eelpower to acquire, build, and operate utility scale projects. The venture will target up to 1 GW of storage, with a near-term pipeline of 240 MW. [Energy Global]
¶ “Google Signs PPA For Renewable Energy From Offshore Wind Farm In Scotland” • Google has signed a major power purchase agreement that will see it offtake renewable electricity from the Moray West offshore wind farm from 2025, as it works towards zero-carbon energy globally by 2030. Google will take 100 MW of the 882-MW wind farm. [edie]
Artist’s image of offshore wind farm (Moray West image)
¶ “Russian Attacks Risked Nuclear ‘Catastrophe,’ Says Ukraine’s Nuclear Energy Chief” • Russia risked causing a “nuclear and radioactive catastrophe” by launching attacks in which all of the Ukrainian nuclear power plants were disconnected from the power grid for the first time in 40 years, Ukraine’s nuclear energy chief said on Thursday. [Euronews]
US:
¶ “Ford Invests Further In Wellbeing At Blue Oval City. Tesla Should Probably Take Note” • Ford and SK On have invested $5.6 billion to build an electric truck and batteries plant in West Tennessee. By 2025, about 6,000 jobs will be created. But Ford is not just about building vehicles. The company also invests in communities and people. [CleanTechnica]
Brownsville, Tenn (Thomas R Machnitzki, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
¶ “Ecogy Begins New York 34-MW Community Solar Plan” • A Brooklyn-based solar development company announced the start of development of a set community solar projects in New York’s Westchester County. Ecogy Energy was chosen for the project after an RFP was issued by the New York Power Authority and Westchester County. [pv magazine USA]
¶ “Hawaiian Electric Selects Seven Solar And Storage Projects For LMI Program” • Hawaiian Electric has selected seven distributed generation solar projects on the islands of Hawaii Island, Oahu and Maui that will offer clean energy procurement to low-to-moderate income households. The projects are to be operating in 2025. [pv magazine USA]
Have an undeniably fortunate day.
geoharvey 