Opinion:
¶ “Falling Solar Panel Prices In China Will Impact Countries Around The World” • A glut of polysilicon led leading Chinese solar panel manufacturers to lower their prices by up to 27%. This could not come at a better time for Europe, which is racing to install large numbers of solar panels to offset the loss of cheap methane from Russia. [CleanTechnica]
Solar panels (Thomas Coker, Unsplash)
¶ “Four Reasons To Give Up Defending Fossil Fuels” • Here are four reasons that businesses, asset managers, governments, and individual investors should avoid fossil fuels: Fossil fuels can’t compete with renewable energy. They are unacceptable risks. They can’t be trusted. They have sacrificed their social licenses to operate. That is just a start. [The Hill]
¶ “Nuclear Is Not The Answer To The UK’s Energy Needs” • The government and the opposition have completely ignored a number of warnings, and they go doggedly on, supporting the construction of the nuclear reactor at Sizewell and considering plans to build others. But nuclear is not the answer to the UK’s energy requirements. [The Guardian]
Sizewell B (John Brodrick, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
Science and Technology:
¶ “The Wait For Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Aircraft Just Got Shorter” • Batteries and fuel cells have scaled up for semi trucks, locomotives, and construction vehicles along with stationary energy storage. Sending them up on an airplane is a different matter entirely, but recent activity indicates that zero emission aircraft are close at hand. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “India Readies $2.2 Billion In Incentives For Green Hydrogen” • The Indian government could soon announce an incentive program worth $2.2 billion to help reduce the production of cost of green hydrogen. According to Reuters, the incentive package could be part of next year’s budget scheduled to be tabled in India’s parliament on February 1. [CleanTechnica]
India’s Parliament House (David Castor, public domain)
¶ “BERC Approves Bihar DISCOMs To Procure 600 MW Of Solar Power At ₹2.50/kWh” • The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission gave the state distribution companies permission to buy 600 MW of solar power from the Solar Energy Corporation of India or a period of 25 years at a rate of ₹2.50/kWh (3.0¢/kWh) and a trading margin of ₹0.07/kWh. [SolarQuarter]
¶ “Power Sector Seeks Solutions For Supply Chain Issues” • The pandemic has exposed issues with the global supply chain that provides resources for power generation and energy storage. The pressure of having enough equipment to meet industry needs has spurred an emphasis on domestic manufacturing in the US and elsewhere. [POWER Magazine]
President Biden (Werner Slocum, NREL)
¶ “2022 Another Remarkable Year For Australian Renewables” • Not many years ago, some so-called experts claimed more than 20% renewables would be a disaster for the electricity grid. In 2022, Queensland had the lowest portion of renewable electricity at 22.4%, New South Wales was next lowest at 27.7%, and the other states ranged from 38.2% to 93.1%. [SolarQuotes]
¶ “Renewable Energy Jobs On The Rise” • In 2021, renewable energy jobs reached 12.7 million globally in a trend that’s set to continue. They grew by around 700,000 between 2020 and 2021, according to the Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2022 by IRENA. The highest number of renewable energy jobs are for solar power, at 4.3 million. [Oil Price]
Installing rooftop solar (Bill Mead, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “Major Winter Storm Threatens Powerful Tornadoes And Flooding In The South And Heavy Snow And Freezing Rain Across The Plains And Midwest” • Leaving California with floods, a major storm is likely to pull moisture from a very warm Gulf of Mexico for severe thunderstorms in the South. The Plains and Upper Midwest will get ice and snow. [CNN]
¶ “EPA Can Now Regulate Waterways – A Huge Shift After A Decade Of Legal Challenges” • It’s amazing what difference a US federal rule can make. With the stroke of a presidential pen, the US EPA can now regulate and protect hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands, and other waterways. Of course, the Supreme Court could change that. [CleanTechnica]
Stream (Rahul Dey, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Battery Manufacturing Is Creating Lots And Lots And Lots Of Jobs” • With the demand for EVs on the rise, new Battery Belt factories are reinventing the workplace in many communities of the Rust Belt. Battery manufacturing is creating new economic development opportunities – and no college degree is needed to qualify for employment. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Human Waste And Climate Change Are Destroying Old Cape Cod” • The Cape is a magical place. Towns along Cape Cod Bay are so quaint and perfectly preserved they make you feel like you have stepped back in time a century or two. Sadly, that Cape Cod is dying. It is literally drowning in the detritus of civilization, pollution and climate change. [CleanTechnica]
Cape Cod National Seashore (National Park Service image)
¶ “Fossil Fuel Power Fell Up To 68% As Blackouts Hit US South” • Duke Energy Corp and the Tennessee Valley Authority cut power to homes and businesses during the holiday season at a time when an extreme winter storm pounded the South. The outages were due to major generating failures at plants powered by coal and natural gas. [Rigzone]
¶ “Youngkin Wants A Small Nuclear Reactor In Southwestern Virginia. Here’s What We Know About Nuclear Waste Disposal In Virginia” • A number of questions swirl around the governor’s plan to put a small modular nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia. Many of them center around concerns about the waste it would produce. [Cardinal News]
Have a spectacularly beautiful day.
geoharvey 
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