Opinion:
¶ “Classic Megaproject Early Mistakes Will Create A Fiscal Disaster For Netherlands Nuclear” • Recently, the new coalition government of the Netherlands looked across its decarbonization portfolio, realized that it had failed to meet renewables targets, and so announced that it would build two nuclear power reactors. Beyond that, there is no real plan. [CleanTechnica]
Nuclear plant (Michael Gattorna, Pexels)
Science and Technology:
¶ “Scientists Design Solar Roofs For Greenhouses” • UCLA materials scientist Yang Yang and his team have designed solar panels that can absorb energy from sunlight without blocking the light plants need. In a study published in Nature Sustainability, they explore the new, viable application of solar cells that does not require large plots of land. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Tornadoes And Climate Change: How A Warming World May Affect Tornado Season” • Climate change seems to be shifting the concentration and range of tornadoes, pushing them into more vulnerable areas. In addition, evidence suggests there will be a more favorable environment for severe weather – and probably tornadoes – in a warmer future. [CBS News]
Tornado (Randy Milanovic, Unsplash)
World:
¶ “A Sunken Oil Tanker Is Threatening Biodiversity In The Philippines” • It has been more than a month since the MT Princess Empress, carrying 800,000 liters (211,340 gallons) of industrial fuel, capsized near the Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro. As much as 36,000 hectares (88,958 acres) of marine area could be affected. The ship is still leaking. [CNN]
¶ “Nottingham City Council’s Greener HousiNG Scheme Installed Retrofit Measures On 1,036 Homes” • Sustainable energy measures often include such retrofits for old homes as insulation, solar panels, and heat pumps. The Nottingham City Council has been rolling out such retrofits as part of its Greener HousiNG scheme. [CleanTechnica]
Rooftop solar (Courtesy of the Nottingham City Council)
¶ “The City Of Cape Town Is Proposing To Raise Feed-In Tariffs By 10.15%” • The problem of load-shedding is crippling the South African economy, costing up to $50 million per day. The City of Cape Town presented its Town 2023/2024 budget. Part of the initiatives announced for the budget include more plans to help the City end load-shedding. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Ørsted And Highview Power Sign Storage Pact” • Ørsted and Highview Power will carry out detailed analysis during 2023 to investigate combining Ørsted’s wind technology with Highview Power’s liquid air energy storage to promote the investment case for new offshore wind projects. The UK lost 1.35 TWh of energy this winter due to lack of storage. [reNews]
Wind turbines (Ørsted image)
¶ “UK Ministers Meet Climate Change Deniers ‘All The Time’, Government Says” • UK government ministers hold meetings with climate deniers “all the time,” a government spokesperson has said. The admission comes after it emerged that business secretary Kemi Badenoch dined with a controversial US think-tank’s lobbyists. [The Independent]
¶ “UK’s Biggest ‘Renewable’ Power Station Could Lose Its Funding Over Alleged ‘Greenwashing’” • Drax produced 11% of the UK’s electricity in 2019. Now it is under scrutiny by Ofgem, the energy regulator, following allegations that it was burning wood from ancient forests to generate electricity. It could lose up to £800 million per year in funding. [iNews]
Drax power station (StaraBlazkova, CC-BY-SA 3.0, cropped)
¶ “UN Nuclear Chief Discusses Ukraine Nuclear Plant In Russia” • Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN’s atomic energy watchdog met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad for negotiations on the safety of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The plant, currently held by Russian forces, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. [Albuquerque Journal]
US:
¶ “Biden Administration Proposes Tougher Rules To Reduce Harmful Mercury Pollution From Coal Power Plants” • The EPA proposes to reduce mercury pollution and harmful particulate matter from coal-fired power plant emissions by up to 70%. If finalized, it would be the strongest update to the mercury standards since 2012. [CNN]
Coal-fired power plant (Pixy.org, CC0)
¶ “DOE Announces $450 Million For Clean Energy On Mine Lands” • Deploying clean energy projects in current and former mine lands across the nation is a key to strengthening rural economies, creating new, good-paying jobs, and reducing the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that jeopardize public health and pollute local ecosystems. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Several Good News Items From GM” • GM has recently announced several good things for its EV efforts. Bolt EV and EUV sales are doing well, Brightdrop (its electric cargo van division) scored some important partnerships, among which is a really good deal it struck with Ryder. Here we take a good look at each of them. [CleanTechnica]
Electric van (Courtesy of GM/Brightdrop and Ryder)
¶ “Tesla Plans To Manufacture 4 Million Less Expensive Electric Cars Each Year” • Sources say Tesla is gearing up to build a less expensive, smaller electric car that will sell for around $25,000, according to CNEvPost. And they claim Tesla plans to make 4 million of them each year by 2030, including 2 million at a new factory in Mexico. [CleanTechnica]
¶ “Appalachian Power Says More Companies Are Demanding Renewable Energy” • Appalachian Power is asking for approval for work on renewable energy projects. The state’s power source is currently about 5% renewable energy, but companies coming to the state are demanding to run on at least 20% renewables to keep a certain carbon footprint. [WCHS]
Have a meticulously organized day.
geoharvey 
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