Opinion:
¶ “Wright’s Law Spells Doom For Legacy Auto Around The World” • This article explains how Wright’s Law is impacting legacy auto sales in the US, Europe, and China, looking at the factors most affecting each market. It discusses how a reduction in costs of 15% every doubling in volume for the auto industry affects the markets. [CleanTechnica]
Model T Ford (Philip Schroeder, Unsplash)
¶ “Gas Cars Are Embarrassingly Uncompetitive In Lifecycle Cost Analysis” • We can consider the 5-year total cost of ownership of battery EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles. Clearly, battery EVs benefit their owners with lower fuel costs, lower maintenance costs, and potentially longer life. A full life-cycle cost analysis captures this. [CleanTechnica]
World:
¶ “Oil Prices Surge After Surprise Move To Cut Output” • Oil prices have surged after several major oil exporters announced surprise production cuts. The price of Brent Crude oil jumped by over 7%, to above $85 as trading began. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and several Gulf states said they were cutting output by more than one million barrels per day. [BBC]
Refinery (Timothy Newman, Unsplash, cropped)
¶ “Paris Votes To Ban Rental e-Scooters” • Parisians have voted to ban rental electric scooters in their city, dealing a blow to scooter operators and a triumph for road safety campaigners. Almost 90% of votes cast favoured a ban on the battery-powered devices, official results showed. But we should note that under 8% of those eligible turned out to vote. [BBC]
¶ “BYD Launches The Tang SUV, Han Flagship Sedan, And Yuan Plus In Mexico” • BYD sold just under 190,000 EVs in 2020. And then, in two years, it managed to multiply sales to over 1,863,494 vehicles last year. Times ten in two years, how cool is that? Now, BYD has launched the Tang SUV, Han flagship sedan, and the Yuan Plus in Mexico. [CleanTechnica]
BYD Tang (BYD image)
¶ “Renewable Energy Construction Investment Tipped To Reach $11.8 Billion Peak” • In Australia, investment in new renewable capacity is forecast to jump almost 50% this year and continue to climb to a peak in 2026 with historically high levels of activity to follow, as the country transitions away from fossil fuel-fired power generation. [pv magazine Australia]
¶ “Government To Issue Tenders For 250 GW Of New Renewable Capacity By March 2028” • The government of India will issue tenders for 250 GW of renewable energy by March 2028, the renewable energy ministry said in a memo seen by Reuters. It will issue tenders to install 70 GW of renewable capacity in the fiscal year ending March 2024. [NDTV.com]
Wind turbines (Pixabay, Pexels)
¶ “Scotland Generates Record-Breaking Renewable Energy” • According to official data, Scotland broke previous records by generating 35.3 TWh of renewable electricity in 2022, marking a 28.1% increase from 2021 and 9.8% from 2020. This amount of electricity could power all households in Scotland for over three years. [Energy Digital Magazine]
¶ “SSE Renewables Pairs With Equis Development For Oz Offshore Bid” • SSE Renewables and Asia-Pacific independent power producer Equis Development Pte have formed a 50/50 owned joint venture to bid for a feasibility licence in Gippsland, Australia’s first Federal Government declared offshore wind zone, near the State of Victoria. [reNews]
Offshore wind turbines (SSE Renewables image)
¶ “Russia Turned Ukraine’s Nuclear Power Plant To A Military Base, Poses ‘Severe Threat’ To Region” • Oleh Korikov, the acting chairman of the Chief State Inspector for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of Ukraine, said more evidence shows that Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant now serves as a military base for Moscow’s troops. [International Business Times]
¶ “India Eyes Major Expansion Of Nuclear Power” • In India, officials have made some ambitious pronouncements, calling for as many as twenty new nuclear power facilities to be brought online over the next decade. If that is done, it would more than double the number of operating nuclear power plants operating in the country. [POWER Magazine]
Narora nuclear plant (Courtesy of the Government of India)
US:
¶ “California’s Salmon Fishers Warn Of ‘Hard Times Coming’ As They Face Canceled Season” • Department of Fish and Wildlife officials in California and Oregon may recommend a ban on salmon fishing this year to protect the falling Chinook salmon populations. Scientists say dam construction and drought fueled by climate change have reduced fish numbers. [CNN]
¶ “Climate Change, Lack Of Maintenance Threaten Providence Infrastructure” • The Providence Preservation Society listed all of Providence’s infrastructure on its 2023 Most Endangered Properties List released January, a decision made due to the city’s vulnerability to climate change, PPS Advocacy Manager Adriana Hazelton said. [The Brown Daily Herald]
Providence, Rhode Island (Rafael Rodrigues, Unsplash)
¶ “$1 Billion Opening To Oklahoma Farmers, Ranchers, And Rural Businesses” • USDA’s Rural Development Oklahoma State Director announced that USDA will accept applications starting on April 1 for $1 billion in grants to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses invest in renewable energy systems and improve energy efficiency. [Duncan Banner]
¶ “Retirees Protest Against Banking Industry In Name Of Climate Change” • On the first day of spring, a large group of retirees gathered at a former farm field in Belfast, now the site of a Bank of America office. They greeted the new season with a demand that the bank stop funding fossil fuel projects, which endanger life on earth. [The Maine Monitor]
Have a spectacularly tranquil day.
geoharvey 
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