Opinion:
¶ “Michigan Scores The $3.5 Billion Ford Battery Factory Virginia Didn’t Want” • Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin didn’t want CATL, a godless communist Chinese company, to run a plant in his state. The 3,500 jobs that Virginia would have got as the result of Ford building a battery factory in Old Dominion will now go to Michigan. [CleanTechnica]
Ford Mustang Mach-E (Ford image)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Long-Term Exposure To Air Pollution May Raise Risk Of Depression Later In Life, Study Says” • Exposure to air pollution may be tied to the risk of developing depression later in life, a large study finds. The study is one of the first to examine the associations between long-term exposure and the risk of depression diagnosed after age 64. [CNN]
World:
¶ “Electric Buses Are Driving A Silent Revolution In Nairobi” • During the early days of COVID-19, authorities in Nairobi called on the city’s thousands of private bus operators to stop running. The result was that people could suddenly see Mount Kenya. The clear lesson was to stop using diesel power and adopt electric buses to move people. [CNN]
BasiGo electric buses (BasiGo image)
¶ “South Africa’s Energy Crisis Poses ‘Existential Threat’ To Its Economy” • Over twice as many blackouts hit South Africa in 2022 as any other year, as aging coal-fired power plants broke down and state-owned power utility Eskom struggled to pay for oil. President Cyril Ramaphosa called the crisis “an existential threat” to Africa’s most developed economy. [CNN]
¶ “Transgrid Starts Trialing The LDV ET60 Double-Cab Electric Pickup” • Transgrid operates over 13,000 km of high-voltage transmission wires and 121 substations in New South Wales and the Australia Capital Territory, with connections to Victoria and Queensland. In a turn to EVs, the company has received its first 2023 LDV eT60 electric pickup. [CleanTechnica]
Transgrid double-cab electric pickup (Transgrid image)
¶ “Where’s The Snow? Climate Change Affects Ski Racing Season” • Besides some minor dustings, it hasn’t snowed significantly in the French resorts hosting the skiing world championships since mid-January. And there is no snow in the long-term forecast. The weather has been cold, but it has not brought snow to French ski resorts. [AP News]
¶ “CEA Notice To Not Retire Thermal Units Hinders Renewable Energy Goal: Experts” • Despite India’s thrust on renewable energies, a notice from the Central Electricity Authority of India to power utilities to not retire any thermal units until 2030 has alarmed experts who say that the move will have a negative effect on India’s energy transition endeavours. [MSN]
Indian thermal power plant (sheikh sohel, Unsplash)
¶ “Leak: France Wins Recognition For Nuclear In EU’s Green Hydrogen Rules” • The European Commission has tabled rules giving the circumstances under which hydrogen can be labelled as coming from “renewable” energy sources. In the last minute, Paris won recognition for low-carbon hydrogen produced from nuclear power. [EURACTIV.com]
US:
¶ “New Solar Farm Is A Carbon Sink And Prairie Preserver” • A movement is afoot to quash solar development on farmland in the US, but the case for rural solar keeps expanding. In the latest example, Lightsource bp built a pair of solar farms in Colorado that double as carbon sinks and help to preserve 3,000 acres of shortgrass prairie. [CleanTechnica]
Solar farm in Colorado (Courtesy of Lightsource bp)
¶ “EV Tax Credits To Boost Domestic Battery Manufacturing” • Recently passed legislation created updated requirements on EV tax credits, but one greatly underlooked factor of the act is its incentives for battery production. Huge federal investments into domestic battery making are expected to drive production costs down and make EVs cheaper. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “SunPower Now Offers Solar For Multi-Family Properties, And The Tenants Benefit” • Many tenants can’t get solar energy because they don’t own the house. SunPower wasn’t happy with this and decided to do something about it. It recently showed how three new customers took advantage of its multifamily solar business, passing savings to tenants. [CleanTechnica]
UC Davis West Village in Davis, California (SunPower image)
¶ “Minnesota’s New Clean Power Mandate Poses Thorny And Expensive Challenges” • After Minnesota had mandated 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, utilities and energy analysts put the cost at tens of billions of dollars. But a director of Fresh Energy in St. Paul said, “But there is a will to make this happen, and the benefits are massive.” [Star Tribune]
¶ “Whale Deaths Are Exploited In A ‘Cynical Disinformation’ Campaign Against Offshore Wind Power, Advocates Say” • A dozen New Jersey beach town mayors and several groups want wind projects stopped while scientists investigate recent whale deaths. Whale advocates accuse them of using whales as pawns in a campaign against windpower. [USA Today]
Have an altogether admirable day.
geoharvey 