Opinion:
¶ “Want Your Mercedes EV To Accelerate Faster? Get Your Credit Card!” • Automakers can get a little sneaky. Instead of leaving bells and whistles out of the car unless you buy them as original equipment, they decided to put them in the car and charge a monthly fee to use them. We can see examples of the practice by BMW and Mercedes. [CleanTechnica]
Mercedes-Benz EQS (Courtesy of Mercedes)
¶ “Small Modular Reactors Will Not Save The Day” • Wind and solar are much cheaper than new nuclear plants even when storage is added. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimated the cost of unsubsidized utility-scale solar plus battery storage in 2021 was $77/MWh, about half the cost Lazard has estimated for new nuclear. [Utility Dive]
World:
¶ “Great Barrier Reef Should Be Placed On The ‘In Danger’ List, UN-Backed Report Shows” • The Great Barrier Reef should be added to the list of world heritage sites that are “in danger,” a team of scientists concluded after conducting a mission to the world’s largest coral reef system. The scientists said action to save it is needed “with upmost urgency.” [CNN]
Clown Anemonefish (David Clode, Unsplash)
¶ “Canada Ups Pollution Pricing” • The Canadian government is increasing the costs of polluting under a policy that guarantees it no longer costs nothing to pollute the country’s air. Under the new rules, eight out of ten Canadian families who get Climate Action Incentive payments will actually see some extra money deposited into their accounts. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “South Africa Turns To Solar To Help Stop Power Cuts” • To try to help solve the problem of frequent power cuts and boost its environmental credentials, the South African government is undertaking efforts to boost its solar power generation capacity. To do this it is encouraging firms in the solar sector to tender for contracts. [BBC]
Solar array in South Africa (Art Solar image)
¶ “Renewable Boom Saves India From String Of Mass Blackouts” • India’s power grid has been more resilient over the past weeks than it was at the same time last year, when a coal shortage led to widespread blackouts. Part of the reason for the enhanced resilience was the surging renewable capacity which has reduced the stress on coal-fired generators. [Oil Price]
¶ “Europe’s First All-Season EV Tire” • The Vredestein Quatrac Pro EV, Europe’s first all-season EV tire developed specifically for battery EVs and hybrids, was unveiled by Apollo Tyres, Apollo Vredestein BV’s Indian parent company. It was touted as setting new norms for grip, efficiency, noise, and environmental impact in its hot new market. [CleanTechnica]
Apollo Tyres tire (Apollo Tyres)
UK:
¶ “Nottingham To Receive 78 New Electric Buses” • The city of Nottingham will get 78 zero-emission electric buses to electrify its fleet as part of a Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas fund. The Nottingham City Council and Nottingham City Transport were able to secure £15.2 million of funding to help achieve the city’s goal of carbon-neutrality by 2028. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Boom Power Secures Planning For 50 MW Of Solar” • Boom Power secured planning permission for a 50-MW solar project in Yorkshire. The developer plans to construct Kenley Solar Farm on approximately 94 hectares of land, near Hull, East Yorkshire. The wind project will generate electricity for distribution to the national grid. [reNews]
Solar array (Andres Siimon, Unsplash)
¶ “Octopus Identifies 2.3 GW Of UK Wind Potential” • Octopus Energy Generation has identified 2.3 GW of potential new British onshore wind energy. Developing all this onshore wind energy would be the equivalent of building a large nuclear power plant. It wouldprovide enough home-grown, cheap, green energy for 1.85 million homes. [reNews]
¶ “Maple, Mainstream Partner For Celtic Sea Floater Tender” • Maple Power and Mainstream Renewable Power have teamed up to explore the Crown Estate’s tender for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea, which will be launched in 2023. The tender for floating wind is expected to deliver a total of 4 GW of renewable energy by 2035. [reNews]
Floating offshore turbines (Principle Power image)
US:
¶ “Hyundai Plans Three Battery Factories With Annual Capacity Of 90 GWh” • Motivated by the Inflation Reduction Act, Hyundai broke ground on a $5 billion electric car factory near Savannah, Georgia. Also, with partners SK On and LG Energy Solution, it is building three battery factories there, with a total capacity of 90 GWh annually. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Caterpillar Makes One Gigantic Electric Truck To Rule Them All” • The latest electric truck from Caterpillar is a zero-emission version of the company’s massive diesel-powered 793 mining truck. It will help push EVs for heavy duty use, as it demonstrates a battery-powered electric drive that can tackle some of the toughest jobs on Earth. [CleanTechnica]
Caterpillar 793 truck (Courtesy of Caterpillar)
¶ “Environmental Groups Propose A Cleaner Power Generation Plan In Iowa” • MidAmerican’s Wind PRIME project would add 2,042 MW of wind power and 50 MW of solar, but the company plans to keep operating five large coal plants in Iowa. The plan would make MidAmerican the state’s largest carbon polluter. A plan for cleaner power is cheaper. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “New Study Projects Health Benefits Of Rapid Renewables And EV Adoption” • The journal Nature Communications has published a study showing that a rapid transition to EVs and heat pumps for buildings would dramatically reduce hazardous air pollutants in the US. One reviewer pointed out that the benefits to our health would be tremendous. [Environment America]
Have a splendidly comfortable day.
geoharvey 
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