Science and Technology:
¶ “Will Shipping Return To Its Ancient Roots?” • To get on track to reach net zero emissions by 2050, international shipping will have to reduce its emissions by 15% by 2030. So far, emissions from the industry have been going more or less consistently in the other direction. Emissions from shipping can be reduced by using sails, however. [BBC]
Modern sailing ship (Oceanbird image)
¶ “New Study Gives Big Boost To Floating Solar” • A study in the journal Nature Sustainability argues that floating solar on many of the world’s reservoirs could provide a significant share of the renewable energy needed to transition away from electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. This means that pressure is off of land use for solar. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “EU Takes 1st Step To Ensure Green Technologies Are Made In Europe” • The EU unveiled two draft laws in response to the US subsidies that it fears are luring European cleantech companies away. One will help the bloc secure supply of the metals needed for green technologies. The other is a first step to ensure that the technologies are made in Europe. [CleanTechnica]
Mercedes-Benz factory (Mercedes-Benz image)
¶ “EU Plans Subsidies For Hydrogen Made Using Renewable Energy” • The European Commission is outlining plans for a hydrogen subsidy scheme that would make clean versions of the fuel more competitive with fossil fuel-based hydrogen, a draft document showed. EU industries use about 8 million tonnes of hydrogen. [Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide]
¶ “Solar And Wind Dominate India’s Capacity Additions In 2022” • India saw strong growth of renewable capacity in 2022, setting the stage for the country to assume climate leadership in the run up to this year’s G20 summit. Solar and wind capacity accounted for 92% of the year’s total additions. Only 5% of the new capacity was coal-burning. [Ember-climate.org]
Solar array (Pixy.org, CC0)
¶ “Controversial Alberta Coal Mine Could Soon Get Green Energy Makeover” • TransAlta was once Canada’s premier provider of coal-fired electricity. Now, it is partnering with Australian company Montem Resources in a project to turn Tent Mountain’s historic mining operation into a pumped hydro plant to store renewable energy. [Global News]
¶ “Singapore Moves Ahead With Plan To Import Clean Energy” • Singapore took steps toward sourcing renewable power abroad by signing agreements with Indonesia and Cambodia. Indonesia and Singapore agreed to jointly develop renewables. Cambodia’s Royal Group Power Co will supply electricity generated from 4 GW of renewable capacity. [Yahoo Finance]
Singapore (Mike Enerio, Unsplash)
¶ “IEA: More Than A Third Of The World’s Electricity Will Come From Renewables In 2025” • A significant rise in CO₂ emissions from the global power sector is unlikely over the next few years, thanks to the rapid rise in renewable energy capacity. That’s a key finding from the International Energy Agency’s “Electricity Market Report 2023.” [The World Economic Forum]
¶ “Germany And Spain Push To Keep Nuclear Out Of The EU Renewable Energy Goals” • Seven EU states including Germany, Spain, and Denmark have strengthened their resistance to efforts by France to count nuclear energy towards EU renewable energy targets, a letter seen by Reuters says. The EU is negotiating more ambitious renewable energy targets. [ZAWYA]
Nuclear plant (Pixy.org, CC0)
US:
¶ “Southern California Water Board Rescinds Emergency Conservation Measures Following Winter Storms” • California’s water supplies were at critically low levels before recent storms. Now, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it is no longer mandating emergency restrictions on water use for over 7 million people. [CNN]
¶ “Comparing The Net Value Of Geothermal, Wind, Solar, And Solar+Storage In The Western US” • Studies show that a diverse portfolio of zero-carbon resources will be needed to decarbonize the US electricity sector, and that high-capacity-factor renewable resources like geothermal could become particularly important in later stages of decarbonization. [CleanTechnica]
Geothermal power plant (David Elvar Masson, Pexels)
¶ “Google And LevelTen Make Renewable Energy PPAs Easy As Pie” • Foes of clean energy object to “woke capital,” but Google has pulled the rug out from under them. In a partnership with the startup LevelTen Energy, Google aims to kick wind and solar development into high gear by cutting 80% off the time it takes to execute power purchase agreements. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “‘Encouraging’: Boise’s Emissions Drop As Climate Initiatives Come Online, Renewables Stay Strong In Idaho” • Boise is working on multiple climate initiatives. The latest figures on its carbon emissions show declines as the city moves toward a series of climate goals over the coming decades, making the City of Trees carbon neutral by 2050. [Boise Dev]
Anderson Dam (Courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation)
¶ “Entergy Seeks To Boost Economic Development In Louisiana Through Renewable Power Expansion” • To do its part to protect the environment and help the state with economic development, Entergy Louisiana recently made the largest renewable power expansion request in state history. It is seeking to add 3 GW of solar capacity. [Market Screener]
¶ “400,000 Gallons Of Radioactive Water Leak From Minnesota Nuclear Plant” • Minnesota regulators said they’re monitoring the cleanup of a leak of 400,000 gallons of radioactive water from Xcel Energy’s Monticello nuclear plant. The company said there’s no danger to the public. The leak was first detected in November of last year. [CBS News]
Have a simply spectacular day.
geoharvey 