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Opinion:

¶ “Steel Is A Major Climate Problem, But It Can Decarbonize Rapidly In The Coming Decades” • Global steel manufacturing produces about 7% of the CO₂ emissions causing global warming. The good news in this challenging but necessary space is that it’s actually fairly easy to decarbonize steel manufacturing. But the steel produced will cost more. [CleanTechnica]

Blast furnace (Třinecké železárny)

Science and Technology:

¶ “Photosynthesis ‘Hack’ Could Lead To New Ways To Generate Renewable Energy” • Researchers ‘hacked’ the earliest stages of photosynthesis, which powers the vast majority of life on Earth, and discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a finding that could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and renewable energy. [ScienceDaily]

World:

¶ “One Of Europe’s Busiest Airports To Be Forced To Cut Flights Due To Planet-Warming Carbon Pollution” • Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs, is to be forced to limit the numbers of its international flights and passengers under the Dutch government’s plans to reduce carbon emissions. The move has triggered airline concerns. [CNN]

Takeoff at Schiphol Airport (CardMapr.nl, Unsplash)

¶ “South African Battery Storage Firm Solar MD Sees Record Growth In South Africa Last Year” • Solar MD makes its own battery packs in Cape Town by integrating cells from CATL. The record levels of load-shedding in 2022 provided a big growth opportunity for the stationary storage industry in South Africa, and Solar MD took advantage of that. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “How Climate Change Is Reshaping The Alps” • A mountain in the French Alps is the site of one of the most unusual natural laboratories in the world. Scientists are using instruments set up on it to monitor permafrost in the rock walls. In the European Alps, more permafrost is thawing each year, threatening the very mountains as it does. [BBC]

Mont Blanc (Andrea Caramello, Unsplash)

¶ “Data Center Firm Teraco Plans To Build 200 MW Of Solar PV To Power Its Facilities In South Africa” • Teraco says it is the first provider of highly resilient, vendor-neutral data environments in sub-Saharan Africa. The company entered into a development agreement to build two 100-MW solar PV sites to generate power for Teraco’s facilities. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “BYD Launches Dolphin In Thailand At Price Parity With Popular ICE Vehicles” • BYD, partnering with Rever Automotive, launched the BYD Dolphin hatchback at the 44th Bangkok International Motor Show. Rever Automotive announced that the Dolphin will start at 799,999 Baht, which is about $23,256 after government incentives. [CleanTechnica]

BYD Dolphin (Anonymousfox36, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Analysis: China’s New Coal Plants Set To Become A Costly Second Fiddle To Renewables” • China’s plans for some 100 new coal-fired power plants to back up wind and solar capacity have sparked warnings from analysts that the world’s second-biggest economy is likely to end up lumbered with even more loss-making power assets. [Reuters]

¶ “Solar And Wind Power Through Energy Crisis To Chart Record Renewables Growth” • Defying a global energy crisis and supply chain issues, global renewable generation capacity soared in 2022, growing by 295 GW, or 9.6%, to reach 3,372 GW. The renewable energy growth continues to grow at record levels despite global uncertainties. [Renew Economy]

Solar array (Courtesy of Nextracker)

US:

¶ “Tesla Updates FSD In Response To NHTSA Recall Notice” • On February 15, 2023, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration issued a recall notice for 362,758 Tesla vehicles equipped with the so-called “Full Self Driving” (Beta) driver-assist system. Tesla says it has an over-the-air update ready for its Full Self Driving Beta software. [CleanTechnica]

¶ “Some Ford Dealers Withdraw From Its Electric Car Sales Program” • Last year, Ford asked its 3,000 US dealers to make a choice to upgrade their facilities to support EVs or forego the opportunity to sell EVs from Ford. A total of about 1,900 decided to upgrade at different levels, but since that time some have withdrawn from the EV program. [CleanTechnica]

Ford Mustang Mach-E (MrWalkr, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

¶ “Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $200 Million To Modernize And Expand Hydropower” • The Biden-Harris Administration, through the DOE, announced more than $200 million for the modernization and expansion of hydroelectric power throughout America and the advancement of new marine energy technologies. [Department of Energy]

¶ “Lawmakers Take Up Renewable Energy Project Proposed For Aroostook County” • State lawmakers are being asked to approve a nearly $2 billion energy project that would connect Aroostook County to the New England power grid. The project is expected to provide 1,000 MW of renewable energy at a lower cost than natural gas. [Maine Public]

Mars Hill (Michael Surran, CC-BY-SA 2.0, cropped)

¶ “Aging Maine Grid Is Putting Hundreds Of Renewable Energy Projects At Risk” • Proposals for community solar farms have surged in Maine, but they are encountering a serious obstacle: An aging grid that requires expensive upgrades to connect more sources of power to customers, putting the state’s clean energy transition at risk. [Bangor Daily News]

¶ “Restarting Michigan Nuclear Power Plant Risks ‘Chernobyl-Scale Catastrophe,’ Coalition Warns” • A coalition made up of 191 individuals and 185 groups representing thousands of people implored the federal government for the third time not to fund the revival of a 51-year-old nuclear power plant in Michigan that was shut down last May. [Common Dreams]

Have a satisfyingly beneficial day.

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This entry was posted on March 23, 2023 at 5:42 am and is filed under nuclear power, renewable power, solar, wind.

Tags: nuclear, nuclear power, photovoltaic, renewable power, solar power, wind power