Opinion:
¶ “Bingo! The SAIC-GM-Wuling Joint Venture Gets It” • We need more affordable cars. We are finally starting to see more of them, but they are still mostly available only in China. However, just like the solar panel and mobile phone revolution, the affordable vehicles will start finding their way to more parts of the world sooner rather than later. [CleanTechnica]
Baojun E300 (Jengtingchen, CC-BY-SA 4.0, cropped)
¶ “The Transformative Power Of Drones Has Only Just Begun” • Drones are changing things. Their game-changing use in warfare has been highlighted by Russia’s murderous invasion of Ukraine, but they are also accelerating the clean energy landscape. Here is an interview with Cameron Chell, CEO and President of the US company Draganfly. [CleanTechnica]
Science and Technology:
¶ “Steel Corrosion Is A Major Contributor To Climate Change” • Each year, the US spends almost a $1 trillion fighting metallic corrosion, the reaction which occurs when metals oxidize and begin to rust. Now, a team of researchers led by the Ohio State University has estimated how much corrosion is worsening global carbon emissions. [Earth.com]
Rust (Jay Heike, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “New Zealand’s Biggest City Braces For More Heavy Rains After Deadly Floods” • New Zealand authorities warned the situation in flood-hit Auckland was likely to worsen after “unprecedented” rainfall brought devastating floods. New Zealand Climate Change Minister James Shaw underscored the link of extreme weather to climate, tweeting “This is climate change.” [CNN]
¶ “King Charles’ Newest Eco-Activism: Royal Wind Farm Profits Will Go To The People” • King Charles III announced that an expected surge in profits from wind farm deals that could have elevated royal investment accounts should, instead, be spent on the public. A spokesperson said the king wished a windfall to be redirected “for the wider public good.” [CleanTechnica]
Thanet Wind Farm (Acabashi, CC-BY-SA 4.0)
¶ “Renault Partners With EV Conversion Company To Refit Older Renault Vehicles” • Some people have a car they’ve owned for decades, and they’re interested in driving an EV, but don’t want to part with a beloved friend. Renault seems to understand and has teamed up with R-FIT1 to launch extraordinary electric retrofit kits in France. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Cape Town Plans To Provide Protection From The First 4 Stages Of Eskom’s Load-Shedding Within Three Years” • South Africa is going through its worst ever period of electricity rationing, but the City of Capetown is not waiting for a solution. It is instituting a three phase program for electricity, starting with independent suppliers. [CleanTechnica]
Capetown (Daniel Vogel, Unsplash)
¶ “Galatea-Galene Wind Farm Gets Regional Approval” • In Sweden, the County Administrative Board of Halland approved OX2’s Galatea-Galene offshore wind farm for construction. The development is to have a capacity of up to 1.7 GW. Its annual generation is estimated to 6 to 7 TWh which is close to the region’s expected increase in demand. [reNews]
¶ “TenneT Hails Strong North Sea Performance” • Beating last year’s figures, TenneT transmitted over 29 TWh of energy from wind farms in the Dutch and German North Sea to land in 2022. In total, 21.13 TWh was fed into the German grid, while 7.91 TWh were transmitted to the Netherlands, up from 4.71 TWh because of a new wind farm. [reNews]
Offshore wind turbines (Martina Nolte, CC-BY-SA 3.0 de)
¶ “Russia Was Making Big Plans For Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plants Before Its Invasion Fell Apart” • An analysis of the first five months of the war by the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think tank, shows that the Russians had big plans to use Ukraine’s nuclear power plants to help topple Ukraine’s government, and demilitarize Ukrainian forces. [MSN]
US:
¶ “Elon Musk’s DC Visit Stirs EV Charging Standardization Pot, Again” • Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Biden administration officials with EV production and charging station buildout reportedly a topic. As to the question of whether Tesla will agree to a single standard for American charging stations other than its own, the short answer is “Nope.” [CleanTechnica]
Charging stations (Ken Fields, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)
¶ “Xcel To Test Power Storage Tech In Becker” • Xcel Energy is bringing state-of-the-art storage technology to the Sherco Power Plant in Becker. Xcel Energy has partnered with Form Energy, an American technology company, to deploy an iron-air battery system at the Sherco Plant. The plant’s capacity will be 10 MW, and 1,000 MWh. [WJON]
¶ “US Renewable Energy Farms Outstrip 99% Of Coal Plants Economically” • Coal in the US is now being economically outmatched by renewables to the point that it’s more costly for 99% of the country’s coal-fired power plants to keep running than it is to build an entirely new solar or wind energy operation nearby, an analysis found. [The Guardian]
Wind farm (Zbynek Burival, Unsplash)
¶ “The State Of The US Renewable Energy Market: Preliminary Analysis For 2022” • In 2022, renewables are estimated to make up 22% of the US electricity generation and experts predict the percentage for 2023 will be even higher. As for total renewable consumption, renewables accounted for 12.7% as the main sources of those consumptions. [Earth.org]
¶ “How States Are Reimagining Power Grids To Take Advantage Of Wind And Solar” • For years, many states have set ambitious goals and incentives to promote renewable electricity projects. Now, more of those states are turning their attention to the transmission lines, substations, and transformers needed to get that electricity to customers. [Fast Company]
Have an inexpressibly happy day.
geoharvey 
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