Science and Technology:
¶ “How The Climate Crisis May Be Changing The Way That Tornadoes Behave” • Unlike heat waves, floods and hurricanes, scientific research about the connection between the climate crisis and tornadoes has not been as easy to do. Nevertheless, experts are already seeing certain changes in how recent tornado outbreaks are behaving. [CNN]
Tornado (Nikolas Noonan, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “UK Government Eyes Ban On Single-Use Plastic Plates And Cutlery” • Single-use plastic cutlery, plates, and other items are to be banned in the UK and replaced by biodegradable items as the government seeks to tackle the growing problem of plastic waste. 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery are used in England each year. [CNN]
¶ “Hungary’s Risky Bet On Russia’s Nuclear Power” • Despite the Hungarian government’s unswerving commitment to the Paks 2 project and the Russian commitment to supply the finance and technology, the Russian war in Ukraine makes the nuclear power station less likely by the day. Critics say it makes Hungary more dependent on Russia as a source of fuel. [BBC]
Paks nuclear plant in 2010 (Barna Rovács, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Global Solar Installs Erupt As Polysilicon Price Peaks” • The latest Rethink Energy report says that global solar installations are on track for 222 GW for 2022, and manufacturing output data shows that next year this will rise by even more. This demonstrates that the solar industry has shaken off the drag of high polysilicon pricing.” [CleanTechnica]
¶ “At $7400, Honda’s Upcoming Electric N-Van Mini Van Can Be A Game-Changer In Japan’s Kei Car Segment” • Honda has set the starting price of the electric N-Van in Japan at ¥1,000,000 ($7,400), with the launch planned for the spring of 2024. Small city cars, which are highway-capable, known as Kei cars, are a big deal in Japan. [CleanTechnica]
Honda Electric N-Van (Honda image)
¶ “World To Expand Renewable Energy Capacity By 75% By 2027, Says IEA” • The International Energy Agency says the world will deploy as much renewable energy in the next five years as it did over the last two decades. Installed capacity of solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources is expected to grow by about 2,400 GW through 2027. [pv magazine Australia]
¶ “GE Renewable Energy Installs First Turbines At 1.2-GW China Pumped Hydro Plant” • The hydropower subsidiary of General Electric’s renewables business has installed the first pair of 300-MW turbines at a pumped hydro storage site in Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, China. The company is to supply to more of the same turbines at the site. [Energy Storage News]
GE Hydro Solutions turbines installed (GE Renewable Energy)
¶ “Uzbekistan projects receive $520 million in financing” • The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development arranged two syndicated loans to help build and commission two wind plants in Uzbekistan. Their combined capacity is to be 1 GW. The $520 million of financing is the EBRD’s largest renewable energy project in the region. [reNews]
US:
¶ “Winter Storm Barrels East With Millions Under Weather Warnings” • A powerful winter storm is moving east across the US, bringing blizzard-like conditions to the Midwest. Roads and schools have been closed and some areas are reporting 4 feet (1.2 meters) of snow. The storm has spawned tornadoes in the South, and at least three people have died. [BBC]
Snowy road (Patino Jhon, Unsplash)
¶ “Record Year for EV Battery Supply Chains” • Over a quarter of a million EVs have been sold in the US so far in 2022. Consumer preferences and policies are driving historic demand for clean cars. With demand for EVs comes demand for batteries to power them. Supply chains for EV batteries are relatively new and rapidly evolving. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Volkswagen Plans To Manufacture More Vehicles In The US” • In an interview with Handelsblatt, Pablo Di Si, the new head of Volkswagen for North America, said Volkswagen Group plans to introduce 25 electric vehicle models to the American market by 2030 in order to increase its market share from a fairly dismal 4% to 8% or more. [CleanTechnica]
Volkswagen Atlas (Courtesy of Volkswagen)
¶ “$2.5 Billion Loan From DOE To Ultium Cells – Three Battery Cell Factories, 11,000 Jobs” • The US DOE announced closing a $2.5 billion loan to Ultium Cells to help finance construction of lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing plants in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee. Ultium Cells, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Orano Completes Dismantling Vermont Yankee’s Reactor Core” • In less than four years, the Orano group, based in France, completed cutting up and packaging the vessel and internal components of the boiling water reactor at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station in Vernon. Vermont Yankee went offline in December 2014. [Vermont Business Magazine]
Vermont Yankee (NRC image)
¶ “Keystone Pipeline – Updates On Its Largest Leak Ever” • The US and Canada are collaborating to clean up oil from the largest US crude spill in nearly a decade. Roughly 14,000 barrels of Keystone Pipeline crude tar sands oil spewed into a northern Kansas creek that’s part of a watershed providing drinking water for 800,000 people. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Nuclear Watchdog Group Raises Concerns Over Concrete Cracks At Seabrook Plant” • The nuclear watchdog group C-10 Research and Education Foundation has petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to take more steps to ensure the safety of cracks in cement at the Seabrook plant. The plant is operated by NextEra Energy Resources. [WMUR]
Have a grandly congenial day.
geoharvey 
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