Opinion:
¶ “Agriculture Is A Massive Climate Problem, And Ag Drones Are A Key Wedge” • How many benefits can one technology have? When it comes to agricultural drones, quite a few. Agribusinesses buy them because they save a lot of money and increase crop yield. The green benefits are a fringe benefit the rest of us will appreciate more and more. [CleanTechnica]
Cheap alternative to an airplane (david henrichs, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “NIO Builds Battery Factory, CATL Reacts, Lithium Prices Implode” • The price of lithium carbonate went to as much as $86,000 a ton last year, and the cost of batteries for EVs climbed by 24% after nine years of steady decline. But CATL offered NIO and Zeekr deals based on an expected price by the end of this year of $30,000 a ton. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Nearly One In Three Homes In Australia Covered In Solar Panels” • Australia has been the global leader in penetration of rooftop PVs for a decade or so. Now, data from SunWiz shows that nearly one in three Australian homes has rooftop solar PVs. Rooftop solar power is about to become #1 in the country in terms of generating capacity. [CleanTechnica]
Rooftop solar panels (Pixy.org, CC0)
¶ “South Africa Energy Crisis At Critical Stage As Load-Shedding Continues” • Eskom reported that nearly 16 GW of generating capacity was offline during the last weekend of January due to breakdowns, while another 6.5 GW was out of service for planned maintenance. Government data shows that South Africa only has about 54 GW of capacity. [POWER Magazine]
¶ “China Widens Renewable Energy Supply Lead With Wind Power Push” • For over a decade, China has been the world’s largest and fastest-growing producer of renewable energy, but it has widened its lead over its rivals through an acceleration in the roll out of wind capacity since 2021. In 2022, China generated 47% more wind power than all of Europe. [Nasdaq]
Wind turbine (Marquitta Spagnolo, Pixy.org, CC0)
¶ “TransAlta Building Massive Renewable Energy Project In Southwestern Alberta” • TransAlta has announced it will build a multi-million-dollar renewable energy project on the site of a former coal mine. Montem’s website says the project includes a hydroelectric power system, a green hydrogen electrolyser, and a 100-MW offsite wind farm. [CTV News Calgary]
¶ “Orlen Raises Renewables Ambition” • Central European energy company Orlen has committed to increasing investments in renewable energy sources as part of an updated strategy to 2030. It will deliver over 9 GW of installed renewable energy capacity (onshore and offshore wind, solar PV) by 2030, a four-fold increase on a previous target. [reNews]
Solar panels (Pixabay, Pexels)
¶ “Eleven EU States Unite To Strengthen Nuclear Power” • Eleven EU member states vowed to “strengthen cooperation” on nuclear energy, saying this would help Europe move away from fossil fuels. They agreed “to support new projects” alongside existing nuclear plants, according to a statement released while the EU energy ministers were meeting. [The Nation]
US:
¶ “Central Heat Pump Water Heaters Can Act As Massive Water Batteries, Seattle Pilot Project Shows” • Central heat pump water heaters present a tremendous opportunity to reduce the energy used in water heating and can act as giant thermal batteries. This was made clear in the first of its kind Bayview Tower pilot project in Seattle. [CleanTechnica]
Central heat pump water heater (Courtesy of Ecotope)
¶ “Li-Cycle Scores $375 Million DOE Loan For Battery Recycling Development” • Li-Cycle, based in Toronto, is the first recycling company in North America actually supplying reclaimed battery grade lithium. The company announced that it qualified for a conditional $375 million loan from the US DOE for its Rochester Hub near Rochester, New York. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Seven States And DC Had More Than Ten Plug-In Vehicle Registrations Per Thousand People In 2022” • In 2022, California led the nation in plug-in vehicle registrations with 27.55 per thousand people. The next highest state was Hawaii with 15.43 PEV registrations per thousand people. More than half of the states had over five. [CleanTechnica]
EV charging (Kindel Media, Pexels, cropped)
¶ “Seeing Gold In Spinning Turbines: Why Texas Is Winning US Renewable Race” • A report by Climate Central, a nonprofit news organization, found that Texas generates the most energy from windpower by far, partly because the state is geographically suitable for windpower, but also because land regulation and tax systems in the state favor it. [Newsweek]
¶ “BLM Explores Utility-Scale Solar In Montana” • The Bureau of Land Management is exploring solar development in Montana as part of a larger White House initiative to use federal land to fight climate change. The agency is seeking input on the feasibility of such projects through the end of February. It manages 8 million acres in Montana. [Explore Big Sky]
Montana (Kerry, Pexels)
¶ “Municipal Franchise Agreements Could Drive Up To 911 TWh Of Renewable Energ” • In recent years, a growing number of municipalities have developed ambitious clean energy goals and targets for emissions. Researchers from the NREL argue that such city-utility franchise agreements offer an immense policy opportunity. [pv magazine USA]
¶ “CEC Determines Diablo Canyon Power Plant Needed To Support Grid Reliability” • The California Energy Commission approved an analysis recommending the state pursue extending operation of Diablo Canyon Power Plant through 2030 to ensure reliability. This comes as California confronts the impacts of climate change. [California Energy Commission]
Have a luxuriously exuberant day.
geoharvey 
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