Science and Technology:
¶ “Sand To Green In Africa” • French-Moroccan startup Sand to Green aims to turn the desert from threat to food producer. The startup is using drip irrigation with desalinated sea or brackish water. Sand to Green has been field testing its techniques for the past three years in Morocco. The farming systems have proven themselves resilient. [CleanTechnica]
Sand to Green plantation (Sand to Green image)
¶ “Climate Change Could Leave Yukon Plants With Nowhere To Go” • As climate change pushes some plants northward, a study suggests several unique species in Yukon and Alaska could have nowhere to go. The paper, published in the journal Diversity and Distributions, found that some species may lose nearly all suitable habitat within the next two decades. [CTV News]
World:
¶ “Green Hydrogen Project Is New ‘World’s Biggest’” • A Hydrogen Insight report says China has begun construction on the world’s biggest green hydrogen project. The Kuqa plant is projected to produce 20,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. Hydrogen from Kuqa is expected to replace grey H₂ made from fossil gas at Sinopec’s Tahe refinery. [CleanTechnica]
Workers at the ready (Courtesy of Sinopec)
¶ “Utility-Scale Wind, Solar PV, And CSP Increased From 467 MW In 2013 To 6,230 MW In 2022 In South Africa” • South Africa’s grid is dominated by coal. The Statistics of Utility-Scale Power Generation In South Africa In 2022 Report of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research says the contribution from coal dropped below 80% for the first time. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “China Approved Most Coal Power Plants Since 2015 Last Year, Making Environmental Goals Harder” • China embarked on a massive expansion of its coal-fired power capacity in response to last summer’s historic power crisis, approving the equivalent of two large coal power plants per week, according to the findings of new research. [South China Morning Post]
Coal power plant in China (Hanno Böck, CC0)
¶ “Consultation Begins To Revive Stalled Renewable Energy Projects” • Pakistan’s government has initiated consultation for a way forward on dozens of stalled wind and solar PV projects, after being highlighted by Sindh and Balochistan governments and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, which is interested in six stalled projects. [Business Recorder]
¶ “Greencoat Sees Portfolio Power Production Rise In 2022” • Greencoat Renewables saw increased electricity production last year as it expanded its number of renewable energy assets. According to the company’s results for 2022, its portfolio generated 2,487 GWh of electricity in 2022, an increase from 2021’s 1,522 GWh. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Karsten Würth, Unsplash)
¶ “Jordan Brings 200-MW Solar Farm Online” • The Baynouna Solar Energy Company has inaugurated its 200-MW Baynouna Solar Park in Jordan. The project will produce over 560 GWh of energy annually – enough to power 160,000 homes. The plant also displaces 360,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year, equivalent to taking nearly 80,000 cars off the road. [reNews]
¶ “’Transparency’ Eases Concerns Over Nuclear Wastewater Release Into The Pacific Ocean” • Japan’s “transparency” over its plan to release treated nuclear wastewater from the crippled Fukushima plant into the Pacific Ocean this year has helped ease the region’s concerns over the discharge, the Pacific Islands Forum says. [Stuff.co.nz]
Island in Micronesia (Marek Okon, Unsplash)
US:
¶ “US Auto Industry Down Over 3 Million Sales (19%) Since 2019” • The US auto industry has declined over the past few years. Compared to 2019, American auto industry’s annual sales were down by more than 3 million (19%). The big exception is Tesla. This shows the internal combustion vehicle market declined more than the overall market. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Red States Leading The US In Solar And Wind Production, New Report Shows” • A report by Climate Central shows how the US capacity to generate renewable energy shot up last year, and surprisingly, red states lead the nation in solar and wind power production. National wind and solar capacity grew 16% compared to 2021. [The Guardian]
Wind farm (Freida Mcmurtrie, Pixy.org, CC0)
¶ “Will Utah’s Great Salt Lake disappear?” • Utah’s Great Salt Lake doesn’t look so “great” these days. This place where tourists once bobbed up and down like corks in water far saltier than the ocean is now quite literally turning to dust. Climate change and the megadrought haven’t done the lake any favors, but also, water is being diverted away from the lake. [CBS News]
¶ “New Hampshire Climate Activists Applaud ‘Community Power ‘ Movement” • More Granite Staters are expected to get their electricity from renewable energy sources this spring, as so-called “community power” programs continue to expand. So far, 26 municipalities have joined the New Hampshire Community Power Coalition. [Public News Service]
Have a wonderfully useful day.
geoharvey 