Science and Technology:
¶ “A Startup Says It Has Begun Releasing Particles Into The Atmosphere, In An Effort To Tweak The Climate” • In a highly controvercial move, a startup claims it has launched weather balloons that may have released reflective sulfur particles in the stratosphere, potentially crossing a barrier in the field of solar geoengineering. [MIT Technology Review]
Release of a NASA weather balloon in 1994 (public domain)
¶ “New Method Addresses Problem With Perovskite Solar Cells” • A new approach to manufacturing perovskite solar cells has addressed previous problems and yielded devices with high efficiency and excellent stability, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) report in the new issue of the journal Science. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “November Carbon Emissions In Europe Lowest In 30 Years” • The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, tracks carbon emissions in Europe. It says November 2022 saw the lowest values for the month in the EU in at least 30 years for total CO₂ emissions, gas consumption, power sector CO₂ emissions, and power generation from fossil fuels. [CleanTechnica]
November CO₂ Emissions (CREA image)
¶ “South Africa: Fuel Tanker Explosion Kills At Least Ten Near Hospital” • At least ten people have been killed, and about forty injured, by a huge fuel tanker explosion near a hospital east of Johannesburg. The tanker, which was carrying liquid petroleum gas, appeared to have got stuck under a low bridge. It exploded as firefighters were working. [BBC]
¶ “Tesla Model Y Leads Italy’s BEV Market In November” • In Italy, over 121,000 cars were registered in November, up almost 14% year on year. Sales of ICE powertrains were stable, with sales of petrol-powered cars at 26.9% and diesels at 18.2% market share. Plugless hybrids reached 33.6%, up from 31.3%, and full electrics reached 4.2% market share. [CleanTechnica]
Tesla Model Y (Tesla image)
¶ “ReNew Signs 150-MW Renewables Agreement With Microsoft India” • ReNew Power, a major renewable energy-independent power producer in India and globally, announced that it has signed an agreement to supply 150 MW of renewable energy agreement with Microsoft India. It is one of the largest deals of its type in India. [Energy Digital Magazine]
¶ “Canada’s Hudson Bay Polar Bear Population Plummets As Climate Change Warms Arctic” • Canada’s Western Hudson Bay polar bear population fell 27% in just five years, according to a government report released this week, suggesting climate change is impacting the animals. The Government of Nunavut found a drop of roughly 50% from the 1980s. [Fiji Times]
Polar bear (Hans-Jurgen Mager, Unsplash)
¶ “UN Watchdog Sees Deal ‘Soon’ On Securing Ukraine Nuclear Plant” • International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has been trying for months to stop the shelling around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Now he says Russia and Ukraine are “making headway” on a deal, with an agreement expected “soon.” [POLITICO]
US:
¶ “How The US Dept Of Defense Is Shaping The Bioeconomy Of The Future” • Plastics and other synthetic materials made from coal, oil, and natural gas have been sidelining biobased products for decades, but the era of petrochemicals is coming to a close. A new, futuristic bioeconomy is beginning to take shape, and the US DOD is behind it. [CleanTechnica]
Crop in a greenhouse (Courtesy of the USAF)
¶ “US Winter Storm: Americans And Canadians Face Mass Outages On Christmas Day” • More than one million Americans and Canadians are facing Christmas Day without power as the massive winter storm continues. Nearly 250 million are affected. The storm that extends more than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Quebec to Texas. [BBC]
¶ “Form Energy Picks Weirton, West Virginia, For Iron-Air Battery Factory” • Form Energy recently closed a $450 million funding round and said it would use some of that money to put up its first factory. It recently announced that it had chosen the former steel town of Weirton, West Virginia, as the site for what will be known as Form Factory One. [CleanTechnica]
Form Energy factory (Form Energy image)
¶ “Renewable Energy And Missed Connections – It’s All About The Electrical Grid” • The US has about 930 GW of clean energy capacity and 420 GW of storage waiting to be built. The problem is that most of the pending renewable energy and battery storage products can’t get connected to the electrical grid, so they aren’t getting built fast enough. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “In The End, Solar Power Opponents Prevail In Williamsport, Ohio” • Local opponents succeeded in killing plans for a solar array in rural Ohio. A 400-MW solar project of EDF Renewables is now one of the largest renewable energy projects in the US canceled because of resistance from nearby residents and their elected leaders. [ABC News]
Have an exceedingly jolly day.
geoharvey 
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